Rebirth of Shadows
by Kirikizu
Summary: Crossover 02x04 Daemon teams up with Lucemon to take over both worlds. With the Digital World already in their grasp, they move on to the human world. The Chosen Children and the Legendary Warriors must work together to protect both worlds while fighting against new and past enemies.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**A/N: Crossover of seasons 02 and 04. There is no pairings planed but I might hint at some if it comes up. Enjoy!**

**Dark Ocean**

In a world void of color a great threat to the Digital World was locked away. A menacing figure cloaked in red with horns and black leathery wings, sat on the shoreline impatiently waiting for something. "He's late," he grumbled as he picked up a fist full of sand.

"I hope you weren't waiting too long Daemon," Came a child like voice from behind him. Daemon turned around, looking at a small child with eight angel wings spread out behind him.

"Its about time Lucemon," Daemon replied letting the sand slip through his clawed hands.

"I needed time to recoup after what those damn brats did to me," he snarled.

"Yes you wouldn't be very useful as a worm," Daemon chucked "Now that you're ready I can open a portal back to the Digital World. Did you get everything we need?"

"Yes, all the data has been gathered," Lucemon responded a frown remained on his face from the worm comment. Daemon stood up dusting the sand from his robe. "First things first, we need to take down the security program protecting the Digital World that Gennai and his little clones have set up, and you can get your revenge on the Warriors."

"What do you mean?" He questioned.

"The Legendary Warriors were converted to some kind of defense program after you were defeated; the security is built around them."

"Then what are we waiting for, let's get going. I think we have waited long enough in the boring place," Lucemon said a grin spreading across his features. Daemon nodded, with a flick of his wrist there was a tearing sound and a portal to the Digital World was being forced open.

"Locking me away in this world was a very foolish idea children," Daemon said as he and Lucemon stepped through the portal, "Reuniting me with an old comrade and giving me access to data of past evil digimon, both worlds already belong to us!" As they disappeared through the portal shadows from the forest near the beach began to move. Suddenly a large number of digimon burst through the trees and followed the two Demon Lords through the gate back to the Digital World.

* * *

**Gennai's House**

A man with short brown hair in a white robe sat in a small dark room the only light coming from the computer screen in front of him. Gennai was running routine checks on the different areas of the Digital World. "Everything looks normal." He murmured finishing the scan. It has been a year since the defeat of MaloMyotismon and the world has fully recovered from the control spires.

Suddenly alarms began to sound, and Gennai stood up sharply knocking over his chair. "This is impossible!" Hundreds of thousands of red dots were rapidly spreading over the map that represented the different digital planes. The invasion of the Digital World has begun.

* * *

**Yagami House**

"Hurry up Tai where going to be late." Hikari 'Kari' Yagami called out to her older brother from the door way of their apartment. Her brown hair was the same style; she was wearing the customary green uniform for Odaiba High School.

"Relax it's not like the school is going anywhere." Taichi 'Tai' Yagami called from the bedroom as he was pulling on his uniform. His bushy hair looked like he just rolled out of bed, but then again that's how it always looked.

"But we still need to meet the others before school and I'm going to tell Sora you're the reason we're late." Kari told him as she headed out the door. That said he picked up his bag and ran out the door.

"What! It's not my fault!"

* * *

**High School**

When Kari and Tai reached the school most of the other Chosen Children were already there seated on the bleachers next to the soccer field. "See Kari where not that late," Tai said with a smile as he reached their group of friends. Kari just sighed and sat next to Sora Takenouchi an older girl with short red hair, who gave her a sympathetic pat on her shoulder. Yamato 'Matt' Ishida shook his head and chuckled at his friend. The older blond was still in his band and doing very well, they were still very popular even with the Digimon ruining their Christmas concert.

Tai, Sora, and Matt are in their final year of high school. The other members of the first group of chosen that were in their school where Mimi Tachikawa who moved back from America after the MaloMyotismon incident and Koushiro 'Izzy' Izumi the computer geek of the group. Mimi had let the pink dye fade out of her hair but was trying out different styles and was currently in a high pony tail. Izzy still looked the same with his famous computer already up and running on his lap. Both were in the 11th grade. Jyou 'Joe' Kido had finished high school the year before and was now in college and didn't have much time to spend with the other chosen children.

"So anything interesting going on?" Tai asked as he looked around the group.

"Well I found this really cute dress the other day," Mimi spoke up happily which started a round of 'girl talk'.

"Now look what you did," Daisuke 'Davis' Motomia said and elbowed Tai in the ribs.

The second generation of Chosen Children were also in high school except for Iori 'Cody' Hida who is in the 6th grade. The rest of the group consisted of Miyako 'Yolei' Inoue who is in the 10th grade, Takeru 'TK' Takaishi Matts younger brother, Kari, Daivis and Ken Ichijoji where in the 9th grade. Like Mimi, Ken wanted to be closer to his friends and moved to Odaiba from Tamachi.

Davis still wore the famous goggles even when the others told him teachers don't like him wearing any headgear. TK's hat was currently in his bag since classes were due to start in a few minutes. Yolei had changed out her round glasses to smaller more stylish frames after some kid made a comment about her large lends. Ken looked pretty much the same, if anything his hair was a little longer.

The girls formed their own little circle away from the guys who were only happy to escape the conversation about clothes sales. "This doesn't make any sense," Izzy grumbled as he typed away on his computer.

"What's the matter Izzy?" Ken asked looking over his shoulder. Ken was probably the only person in there group that understood most of the computer talk that Izzy tended to spew out.

"There's some kind of electrical interference that's keeping me from connecting the schools internet. I've been trying to pinpoint the source but I'm not having too much luck." He continued to furiously type on his computer.

"What is the point of coming early if we're just going to listen to all these boring conversations?" Tai asked Davis who merely shrugged.

**Across the Soccer Field**

"Come on Kouji play with us!" Takuya Kanbara a tall brunet, wearing a hat and goggles, was juggling a soccer ball while trying to convince his so called best friend to play a quick game of soccer with him and Tomoki "Tommy" Himi. Tommy a smaller boy was doing light stretches beside Takuya, had gotten rid of his large pumpkin like hat for a smaller olive green one. Besides the two on the soccer field the rest of the Legendary Warriors sat in the shade under a tree on the sidelines.

"No." Kouji said, leaning against the tree with his hands behind his head. Kouji Minamoto had refused to cut his long hair and had traded his blue and brown bandana for a black one with light grey stripes. Kouichi Kimura, Kouji's twin chucked as he watched the beginnings of a very predictable fight from under the tree's shade. Kouichi had decided to keep his hair short since it was the only thing that kept people from confusing him and his brother.

"Don't you think we should stop their arguing before it gets out of hand?" Izumi 'Zoe' Orimoto leaned over and whispered to Kouichi. Zoe had let her blond hair grow to her mid back and her bangs were pinned back with a purple butterfly clip.

"Nah, it shouldn't get too bad they haven't even started insulting each other yet." Takuya, Zoe, and the twins were all in the 12th grade and Tommy was starting the 9th grade. Junpei 'JP' Shibiyama had graduated last year and was going to college for engineering.

"Damit Kouji!" Takuya yelled and kicking the ball at him out of frustration. What he didn't expect was for Kouji to side step causing the ball to ricochet off the tree and slam into the bleachers mere inches away from Izzy and conveniently landing in Davis's lap. Davis was laughing at poor Izzy who had jumped and almost dropped his laptop.

"Sorry about that," Takuya yelled from across the field ignoring Zoe who was yelling at him to be careful and Kouji's mumbled 'idiot'. "Hey Tai," he said noticing the other co-captain of the soccer team, "You and your clone wanna join us, Kouji doesn't want to play with me."

Kouji leaned back against the tree and said. "What are you five?" Takuya turned around and stuck his tongue out at him causing Kouji to just roll his eyes.

"I'm not his clone! The names Davis, and your gonna remember it once I beat you," Davis shouted kicking the ball back at him. Tai jumped at the chance of a soccer game and ran onto the field.

"That's if you make the team," Takuya teased. Noticing David's grouchy look he said "Hey relax buddy I was only kidding, Tai said you're really good so you should get in no problem."

"So a quick 2v2 before the bell?" Tai asked as the four of them got closer.

"Were so gonna win you guys don't have a chance," Tommy jumped up and down challenging them.

"Oh you're so on!"

The game ended in a tie of 3 to 3.

**Seniors Classroom**

"That was awesome, see Kouji you should have played," Takuya said as he sat down next to Sora and Tai. All the seniors were in the same class and took up a small spot near one of the back corners.

"The day Kouji breaks down and plays with you guys is the day Tai shaves his head," Zoe cut in making the others laugh. She took her seat on the other side of Sora. "But I admit it was a good game."

"Yea, Davis was pretty good but don't tell him that I said that. I want to see how well he's going to do in tryouts." Takuya was actually impressed with Davis. He heard of the freshman from Tai but didn't actually get to see him play yet.

"Tommy's pretty good too, is he going to try out?" Tai asked turning toward Takuya. Both Tai and Takuya were captains for the schools soccer team.

"Nah he said he's going to check out some of the other clubs." Takuya and Tai kept on talking with a few words thrown in from the girls and Matt. The twins sat in the back row and kept to themselves. When the teacher walked in he interrupted them before the conversation could get any farther.

"Hat off Kanabara, how many times do I have to tell you." The teacher scolded.

"So you scold me and not Kouji, that's just prejudice cuz he gets better grades!" Takuya exclaimed while slamming his hat on the desk. This caused the teacher to raise one eye brow and Matt and Kouichi who were closest to Kouji to start snickering. Confused he turned around to see Kouji leaning his face on his palm a bored look on his face his bandana already shoved in his jacket pocket.

"Moron."

* * *

**That Night Izumi Residence**

It was slightly after midnight and Izzy was still trying to get his computer to work properly. He was frustrated even after working on it all day his computer was still not functioning correctly. It was actually getting worse and it was having problems performing basic functions. He just couldn't figure it out, there was no way he was getting hacked or had somehow picked up a virus. Suddenly the screen turned black and a single pop up window appeared.

"What the?!" The image was fuzzy but it was slowly getting clearer until it revealed Gennai. "Gennai it's you! Whats happening?" Izzy questioned noticing Gennai's haggard appearance.

"Daemon is back, he managed to get back into the Digital World and brought a whole army with him." Gennai sighed tiredly, "We tried to hold them off the best we could but no one expected Lucemon to accompany him." Gennai held up a hand to stop Izzy from asking who Lucemon was. "I have to keep this short, I don't know when they are going to jam my signal again. Tomorrow after school gather the rest of the Chosen Children, I will temporarily open the portal and bring you all here for a briefing."

"Why can't we go sooner?" He was very eager to go back to the Digital World no matter what kind of trouble was brewing. All the partner digimon were needed back in the Digital World to help fix the damage caused my Malomyotismon. After they went through the gate it never opened again even with the D3s.

Gennai shook his head slowly. "Daemon has taken over majority of the Digital World I don't want you guys staying too long. If we meet tomorrow I can find all your partners and try to boost the security around HQ to keep the evil digimon out."

"Alright we'll see you tomorrow Gennai."

"Good night and keep safe."

Then the screen went black.

* * *

**The Next Day, Odaiba High School**

First thing in the morning Izzy informed the others about Gennai's midnight call. At first they were all excited to finally hear from him, but expressions dimed when they were informed of the distress Gennai seemed to be in. Cody and Joe were contacted and they were going to head over to the school as soon as it got out. The day seemed to drag on so slowly, they were all so anxious to get back to the Digital World, school didn't seem so important.

As soon as the bell rang they rushed to the computer room to meet up with Gennai. It was almost five hours after school got out the gate still remained firmly shut. "What gives, he calls us and just leaves us hanging!" Davis was furious but no one could blame him.

"Calm down Davis we're all anxious, but there must be a valid reason Gennai hasn't opened the gate yet," Ken tried to calm down his friend who had begun to pace around the room.

Finally the computer screen they were all sitting around began to glow and the all felt the nostalgic pull of going through the digital gate.

**Digital World HQ**

"To think after all this time we would find a better way of doing this." Yolei said from the very bottom of the dog pile in front of the glowing screen.

After unscrambling themselves they looked around the darkened room. Rather than some high tech lab they were expecting it resembled something more like a bomb shelter. Suddenly there were cries of happiness and some of the kids ended up being tackled to the ground due to over exited digimon.

"Kari! I'm so glad you're here." Gatomon said hugging her partner tightly.

"I missed you Gatomon." She returned the hug nuzzling the top of the cat's head. Similar words and hugs where shared though out the group.

"What happened to you? You guys look terrible." Sora asked noticing the wounds and disheveled state of Biyomon and all the other digimon.

"Daemons taken over almost the entire Digital World," Gabumon informed them. "He suddenly showed up one day with an army of shadow digimon. They are basically the leftovers of digimon that were destroyed; he somehow found a way to reanimate them. We tried to hold them off, but we just aren't strong enough."

"So we're gonna be fighting an army of digital zombies!" Davis shouted.

"Sort of, most of them are just empty shells but the stronger ones still have their old personalities." Veemon told them from his seat in Davis's lap. "Like Myotismon…"

That caused ripples of fear and show to spread through the Chosen Children. "Geez how many times are we going to have to finish that guy?!" Tai said exasperatedly. "So now we got old enemies coming back to life and an army of shadow digimon or whatever they're called is there any other good news."

"Actually there is one more thing." All of them turned around to see Gennai entering the room sitting down at the table and setting down a small box he had being carrying. This was the most tired and beaten the Chosen have ever seen him. "Lucemon is working with Daemon. He had actually destroyed the entire world years ago, and he would have gotten to the real world if it wasn't for the Legendary Warriors."

"Who are the Legendary Warriors?" Izzy asked, taking a seat next to Gennai. The others followed suit taking the seats around the table and the space around it.

"They are a group of ten ancient digimon who saved the world and their 'spirits' are the base of the digital world's protection," Tentomon informed then settling down in the middle of the table. "Or at least they were until Daemon and Lucemon tore it down and destroyed them. They are the only ones strong enough to defeat Lucemon."

"And without the tags and chrests and Gatomon getting her tail ring back we're all basically stuck with our champion forms," Agumon mumbled hanging his head.

"It's okay Agumon we're all together now we've always went up against impossible situations and come out on top, this time won't be any different," Tai tried to convince his partner as well as himself. "Come on guys, don't look so down we just need to come up with a plan." It wasn't just the digimon that had a depressed air hanging around them.

"Here maybe this will make you feel better," Gennai said opening the small box that he had brought in with him. He opened the box revealing the children's crests and digieggs. That immediately brought cheers to the group.

"But I thought the crests were used to help restore the world?" Matt asked.

"You Chosen need them more now, but be warned they don't have any power in them," Gennai began to explain. "Think of it like a battery, all the energy has been used up now it's up to you to recharge it and return the power to the crests."

"Just how are we supposed to do that?" Mimi asked hugging Palmon closer to her.

"Each of you represent a virtue, just be yourself and the crest should be restored to its old power."

"What about us, without being able to DNA digivolve our partners can only reach the champion stage." Cody asked.

Gennai sighed, "I don't know…"

Suddenly there was a loud banging noise coming from another room making the Chosen Children jump. "What was that, are we being attacked?!" Davis said jumping up from his chair.

"Don't worry the Christmas lights are just acting up again." Patamon told them from on top of TK's head. "They were really calm until you guys got here. Now they're making a racket." All the kids gave Patamon confused looks, 'Christmas lights?'

"Lucemon wanted revenge on the Legendary Warriors because they were the cause of his destruction, so when they broke down the defense system he destroyed all of them," Gennai explained while standing up and headed toward an adjacent room. "They couldn't fight him off because they are basically thousands of years old and didn't have a physical form; they were just power sources."

The group followed him to the next room to see a large glass case filled with six different colored globes. Four of the six where flying around and slamming violently into the glass. But there were two that were resting on the bottom; a white orb that gave off a blue hue and a black one with a purple hue.

"These are the remnants of the Legendary Warriors." explained Gennai. "For some reason even after they were destroyed these six had parts of them that couldn't be deleted, I analyzed them and found that it's made of similar data to that human DNA is converted to."

"What's wrong with that one?" Matt asked pointing at the white orb. The white orb was flashing, dimming to almost nothing until coming back to normal. The black orb was continuously circling the weakening flashing orb.

"I believe that it represents the warrior of light. He is very week because the darkness in this world is so much stronger."

"So what is the black one trying to finish it off?" TK's grudge against dark forces was very clear.

"Actually TK I think it's trying to help," Patamon said looking down from his partners head. "Every time it stays dimmed for more than a few seconds the black one bumps it making it brighter again." TK didn't look very convinced.

"What makes these six different from the ones that were destroyed?" asked Izzy as he stepped closer to get a better look at the orbs.

"They were the partners of the first Chosen Children." Gasps erupted through the group. "When I opened the gate for you they started acting up; I think they are trying to return to their partners."

"If we can get the guys who helped defeat Lucemon the first time we might actually stand a chance," Agumon said giving a big toothy grin.

"But Agumon that happened thousands of years ago those guys are probably long gone," Tai said killing his partner's enthusiasm.

"Actually Tai, the time in the Digital World moved much faster at that time, they may not be too old," Izzy informed his friend.

"If I did my calculations right, they came to the Digital World only about six to eight months before you. This may be our only chance, you need to find the first Chosen Children if we want to save our worlds." Gennai said his face finally showing some life when reaching this conclusion.

"Great, this sounds like the 8th child incident all over again," Joe complained.

"Hey don't blame Kari it wasn't her fault she was sick!" Gatomon immediately came to her partner's defense.

"I didn't mean anything bad about her I'm just saying it sounds like another wild goose chase." Joe raised both his hands up in surrender. "At least last time we had the digivices to track Kari but we have nothing this time."

There was a loud crack and the glass holding the spirits shattered, they had finally broken through. They zoomed past the surprised children and digimon and straight through the open gate.

"Looks like that problem has been solved Joe. If the legends are true then the spirits will find their partners because they share the same soul," Gennai said.

"So besides the army of zombies we need to fight; now we need to find some kids that are possessed by digimon ghosts!" Davis was practically ripping his hair out at this point.

Laughter echoed in Gennai's HQ. "I will focus on making the connection to HQ and Izzy's laptop stronger so we can communicate. The D3s will no longer open the gates I need to manually open it from this side for security purposes." Gennai ushered them toward the gate. "Take your partners with you and good luck."

* * *

**Takuya's Dream**

His soccer team had just won the championships and he was being hoisted on his teammate's shoulders holding a huge golden trophy. Then, like someone hitting the mute button on a TV the noise around him was cut off then everything disappeared leaving him in a white space.

"Hey! What gives?" Takuya looked around rapidly.

"Takuya…"

He spun around to find a warrior with bright red armor and a mane of wild blond hair. His jaw dropped and eyes bugged out before running toward the tall figure and tackling him into a hug.

"Agunimon."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for reading here's chapter two.**

**Takuya's Dream**

He couldn't believe it, after six years of absolutely no contact from the Digital World for six years suddenly Agunimon comes to him in a dream.

"You've really grown Takuya." Agunimon stepped back to take a good look at his old partner. This gave Takuya time to notice the dings and scratches in the warrior's armor.

"You okay?" He asked all of his excitement suddenly turned to worry.

"We need your help. Lucemon has returned with reinforcements in the state we're in we are no match for him." Agunimon began to explain the dire situation to Takuya who tried his best not to interrupt, especially after the mention of Lucemon. "Lucemon attacked us when we were in our dormant stages acting as somewhat of a security system for the Digital World. Mercuyrmon, Ranamon, Arbormon, and Grumblemon were all destroyed, but the reason we survived was because of you."

"What?! But I haven't done anything," Takuya exclaimed.

"Bonding with you caused our souls to merge we cannot be completely destroyed as long as you're alive." Agunimon smiled at him momentarily before his face becoming serious. "We can't recreate your D-Tectors because the program for it was lost long ago, so if you decide to fight with us and help us reclaim the Digital World I cannot guarantee that nothing bad will happen to your bodies. The D-Tectors protected your human bodies from completely merging with us, I don't know what will happen if you try to spirit evolve now."

"But without the D-Tectors we wouldn't be able to spirit evolve anyway." Takuya was a bit confused my Agunimon's last statement.

"Our bodies are destroyed so the only remnants left are our spirits that are connected to you. In other words now that we have no 'physical' form the only way for us to fight is by you becoming our new bodies." Agunimon took a deep breath. "Will you fight?" He asked holding out his hand.

Takuya smiled at him. "Do you even need to ask?" When he took Agunimon's hand his body was engulfed in fire. At first it hurt causing him to cry out, but after a while the burning dimmed to a warm feeling that spread throughout his body from his heart.

"Thank you." Agunimon's voice rang through the room even though Takuya could no longer see his partner he knew he was now closer than ever. He was then pulled from the mysterious white area by a blaring noise that happened to be his alarm clock. When he rolled out of bed he felt more energized than he ever did in his life. He could feel Agunimon's presence deep within his soul. He smiled, "It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back," Agunimon said. It seemed that the spirits could talk to them and act like a conscious rather than an invader in their minds. Takuya smiled, now he needed to get to school, and more importantly he needed to talk to his friends.

**Odaiba High School (Chosen Children)**

They had decided that the computer room was too small for 12 digimon to stay without being noticed so they we left at home. Some of the newer chosen still haven't told their families about the digimon so, Veemon, Armadillomon, and Hawkmon stayed at other houses. They meet on the same bleachers that they do every morning to come up with a plan on how they would find the other Chosen Children. So far they haven't come up with any good ideas.

"Gennai did some research and found that the other children are somewhere in town. I've been working on a program that tracks digital signatures but there are still a lot of bugs in it," Izzy informed them of his little late night project. "If Gennai's assumptions are right the spirits should have found their old partners and my program should be able to pick up the spirits signatures."

"I take it back this is worse than trying to find the 8th child," Joe sighed; he stopped by before his college classes started.

"In the mean time we can just keep an eye out for suspicious people there's not much we can do," Tai suggested.

"Gennai sent me some background information on each of the remaining spirits. Each spirit has two forms that can be combined and each of them represents a different element: Fire, Ice, Wind, Thunder, Light, and Darkness," Izzy began reading off his computer.

"I still don't see how a creature of darkness can be on our side. All the ones we've run into have only caused destruction," TK said most of the group nodded along with him.

"Well he's supposed to be on our side but were going to have to judge that when the time comes."

**Odaiba High School (Legendary Warriors)**

Takuya ran all the way to the soccer field to see Tommy, Zoe, and JP all waiting under the tree, the twins nowhere in sight. He knew they must have had similar reunions with their spirits since JP normally doesn't meet them before his classes.

"So did you get a special visitor last night too?" asked JP once Takuya reached them.

"Yeah, I did. Where are Kouji and Kouichi this is important," Takuya said looking around for the missing twins.

"Where not sure, they're never late especially since we have a lot to talk about," Zoe said. "Kazemon mentioned something about possible side effects but I feel fine." They compared their dreams and what the spirits told them until the missing twins finally showed up.

"You guys sure picked a great time to be late." Takuya gave Kouji a smug look finally being the one on time for once. Rather than giving a smart comeback Kouji just walked passed him and collapsed against the trunk of the tree.

"You okay Kouji?" Tommy asked crouching down next to him.

"He has a splitting headache. It took me forever to wake him up after he destroyed his alarm clock," Kouichi informed them sitting down next to his brother. "Because the light and darkness in the Digital World is so out of balance Lobomon and Kouji are feeling the effects."

"It comes and it goes. But when it gets bad it feels like Grumblemon is smashing my skull with is sledge hammer." Kouji winced rubbing his temples.

"Ouch. I guess that's what they meant when they said side effects," Zoe said sadly. "Whatever our spirits are sensitive to so are we."

"Well there's some good parts did you guys try out your abilities yet?" JP asked. Everyone even Kouji gave him a strange look. "Well this morning I sneezed and blew a fuse at my house. I think that when we merged with are spirits we got their power." He demonstrated by holding his hand up and small sparks began coming out of it.

Jaws dropped and questions immediately started streaming out of everyone's mouths.

"How'd you do that?"

"Can you teach me?"

"Well you're just a living battery now aren't you?"

"Well to tell you the truth I found it out by accident and I wouldn't consider doing more than this. Even this small amount is making my fingers all tingly, too long and it goes numb," He started rubbing his hands together.

"I guess we really are part digimon now huh?" Tommy said.

"We are so awesome!" Tommy just laughed at Takuya's outburst while the others shook their heads smiling.

**After School the Computer Room (Chosen Children)**

All the Chosen Children met in the computer room before spreading out over the town to search. But that wasn't their only problem none of them still haven't managed to get their crests to glow like they did in the past.

"Well how did you guys get it to work last time?" Cody asked the older chosen.

"It just kind of happened were not really sure," Matt told him. "They just started to glow when we really needed its power."

"At least you guys have something; I feel totally useless." Davis was frustrated all the new chosen were. "Can't you talk to Gennai Izzy, there must be something that can help us."

"Well, you can go steal Gatomon's tail ring so they can DNA-digivolve again," Yolei joked.

"Are you out of your mind?! She'd tear my fingers off before I got even close!"

"I'll try to talk to him. He was looking into the Digieggs more and he thinks they might hold similar powers to the crests besides just giving you the power to armor digivolve," Izzy told them. "But it's just a theory don't get your hopes up yet."

"Well there's not much more we can do here. Let's grab our partners and spit up into pairs and take a look around town." Tai stood up taking command. Everyone nodded and stood up grabbing their stuff and headed toward the door. Kari was the first one out only to be bowled over by a hyper active Takuya. Kari had dropped her bag and was sitting on the floor still a little startled, while Takuya laid flat on his face.

"Kari you okay?!" Tai rushed to help her up making sure she was okay. He had entered protective older brother mode and was franticly searching her for injuries. Only after he dubbed her fine he turned to yell at the person who dared try to hurt his little sister, only to find that Zoe had that covered.

"I told you not to run! You could have seriously hurt her!" Zoe yelled at Takuya who was cowering against the wall. The twins and Tommy stood behind her looking amused; or at least Kouji did the other too wore more sympathetic expressions.

"I'm sorry." This was worse than facing Cherubimon.

"Don't apologize to me; I'm not the one you trampled." She continued to scold him. She probably would have ripped his head off if Sora didn't step in.

"Hey, let the poor guy off Zoe he didn't mean it and Kari is fine." Takuya was nodding franticly hoping that Zoe would listen to the chosen of love. Zoe sighed and nodded.

"Thank you Sora!" Takuya said jumping up, but froze as Zoe turned back to glare at him. "…and I'm sorry Kari I was kinda in a hurry, soccer practice is starting soon."

"WHAT!" Tai and Davis, who in fact did make the team, obviously forgot about practice. The two of them took off toward the field right behind Takuya who was sprinting down the hall again.

"I feel sorry anyone who gets in their way." Kouichi chuckled. "Those three could be triplets."

"My god, imagine three Takuyas," Kouji said causing both groups to laugh. He noticed Kari's bag on the floor temporarily forgotten. He picked it up and handed it to her.

"Oh, thank you." Kari said taking her bag. Her fingers brushed his and there was a bright flash of white light. Kari was in shock; what just happened? She was in a white building with two rows of silver pillars; it resembled some kind of temple. Sitting in the center was a humanoid figure with silver armor with a wolf's head helmet and a blue and silver scarf. The figure opened their eyes revealing ruby red eyes. "Who are you?" His deep voice echoed around the room.

Suddenly she was back in the hallway with everyone staring at her. "You okay Kari you look a little shaken." TK walked up next to her putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I know Kouji can be scary but don't worry he doesn't bite," Tommy said smiling at her. Kouji shoved him playfully for that comment making him laugh.

"See you guys later were on the way to meet our friend," Kouichi started to leave waving at them the rest of the warriors following him.

"Hey Zoe, you should go shopping one day with the rest of us girls; you spend way too much time with those boys," Mimi shouted after them.

"I'd like that. Some girl time sounds wonderful," She shouted back.

TK was still holding onto Kari, something was wrong with her she was really stiff and continued to stare after them. "Kari what's wrong?" That got the rest of the group's attention; they all turned to look at her.

"Am I the only one that can see it?" She said looking around the group, seeing everyone shaking their heads giving her confused looks.

"What are you talking about Kari?" Yolei questioned standing on her other side. Kari put her head down looking slightly embarrassed.

"Kouji, he's glowing" She simply stated staring at her shoes.

"He is cute; I didn't know you where into older guys Kari," Mimi teased giving her an evil smile.

"What really?!" TK shouted.

"Wow relax TK," Matt laughed at his brother's shocked expression.

"No." Kari obviously still lost in thought missing all the teasing that just went around. "He was a white aura around him, and when he passed me my bag I saw this white temple and some guy in silver armor."

"Kari maybe you should go home and rest the rest of us can search. I'll walk you home," TK was now worried about his friend; he put his hand on her back and started leading her toward the school exit. The rest of their friends looked on similar looks of worry.

"I know what I saw," She said quietly not even TK heard her. Turning back around she looked at Kouji's back as the glow around him dimmed.

**Twins' Dad's House after Soccer Practice **

After Takuya's soccer practice was over they all met at Kouji's house since both his parents were at work. Everyone was seated around the living room while the twins were grabbing snacks and drinks from the kitchen. They all wanted to experiment what kinds of powers the spirits gave them in some place private.

"So how'd you do it JP?" Tommy asked referring to JP creating electricity earlier that morning.

"It's a lot simpler than you'd think. We've all used their powers before we just need to remember how." He smiled and ruffled Tommy's hair since he had put his hat on the table.

Takuya closed his eyes and remembered what it was like to actually be Agunimon, the power the held, the agility, everything. As he thought about it he could feel the power resonating inside of him. When he opened his eyes there was a small fire ball in the palm of his hand.

"That's awesome!" Takuya shouted jumping up. In his excitement the small ball of fire flared up and became about the size of a basketball. He was startled not excepting the power surge; he was not expecting the cup of water to be poured over his head extinguishing the fireball.

"Hey dumbass, don't set my house on fire." Kouji told him putting the rest of the cups of water on the table. Takuya just sat back down a huge grin on his face he didn't care that he was soaked; he just made a ball of fire appear out of thin air!

Tommy was making small ice crystals in the palm of his hand and Zoe was making mini tornadoes fly around the room. Kouichi held out his hand and closed his eyes, it took a while longer than the others but slowly small particles of black matter began to condense. Opening his eyes he smiled pleased at the result. Watching his friends Takuya attempted to make another fireball before JP stopped him.

"Um maybe you should practice outside, or someplace less flammable," He suggested.

"Aww man but Tommy and Zoe could be just as dangerous," Takuya whined.

"But they didn't almost destroy the living room. Besides looks like they have way more control than you do," Kouji said from his spot on the couch. Takuya turned to glare at him.

"Well I don't see you trying," He taunted.

Kouji couldn't just let that slide. Sitting up straighter he brought both his hands to his chest and a small glowing ball of condensed light particles began to form between them. When it was about the size of a golf ball it suddenly shattered. Kouji slouched back onto the couch and groaned rubbing his temples.

Takuya completely forgot about the health issues Kouji was having due to Lobomon's condition. "Hey, you okay? Don't overdo it." The others all gathered around Kouji making sure he was okay.

"I'm fine. The headache will pass in a little while," He tried to reassure the others.

They spent the next half an hour just practicing summoning their elements. By the end of their practice session they were all exhausted. "If this is all we can manage how are we supposed to save the world? We probably would have troubling beating Naemon with the power we just showed," Takuya was frustrated with the lack of stamina.

"Well Lowemon said we won't be fighting alone. He mentioned something about other children going to the Digital World after us. They are supposed to have some kind of ancient artifacts that could help us." Kouichi said.

"Beetlemon said something similar," JP added. "He said we would need to share out power with them and they would give us strength in return."

"But is that going to be enough, especially since Lucemon has back up now," Zoe said. She was worried, they all were, they are nowhere close to having the power they used to have and now they need to take down and enemy they barely beat before and his whole army. "This doesn't look good guys."

"Well, we can't do much except keep practicing and keep an eye out for those other kids," Tommy said trying to raise the mood.

"Right, and how exactly are we going to find them we can't just go asking every kid we see if they know what digimon are," JP said.

"They're supposed to have partners right we can be on the lookout for them instead they should stick out like a sore thumb," Zoe suggested. "Any digimon I know would never stay cooped up in a house all day. There's got to be a time where they go outside and that's when we can find them."

"Sounds like a good idea Zoe. We should probably check less populated areas and places like parks. I don't think they would take their digimon to a store," Kouichi added.

It was getting late and they needed to head home, and Kouji was practically out cold on the couch already. The others began to gather their things and headed out the door. Kouichi bid his friends good bye and went to check on his brother.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked shaking Kouji's shoulder slightly. He only got a grumble as a reply. "You know, your headaches are only getting worse have you talked to Lobomon about something you can do to stop them?" Kouji sat up his head in his hands.

"He mentioned sensing some strong source of light here, but no way of finding it. If we can get a hold of that I think Lobomon would feel a lot better," Kouji told his brother.

"You think those other kids have it?" Kouichi asked.

"It would make sense, that's only another reason why we need to find them," He sounded determined but the chances were still slim.

"We can go look for them tomorrow after school. But not too long though were supposed to stay at mom's house from tomorrow." Kouichi reminded.

"I forgot about that, might as well start packing."

**Yagami House**

Kari was a bit upset, she knew there was something different about Kouji she just didn't know how to prove it. All the others just assumed she was seeing things.

"He was glowing Gatomon but the others couldn't see it. I think they thought I was crazy," Kari was lying on her bed telling her partner who sat on her stomach about her encounter with Kouji.

"You have always had a close connection to the powers of light, maybe he does too that's why he was glowing," Gatomon said. "You said you saw something when you touched him?"

"Yeah, I was in this white temple and there was someone sitting in the center of it. He was wearing some kind of white armor and he looked hurt." Kari stroked her partners head unintentionally, not that she was going to complain. "I want to help him but I don't know where he is."

"Doesn't Tai have a soccer game this weekend? You said Kouji's friends with Tai you can ask him about it," Gatomon suggested.

"And have him look at me like I'm crazy."

"Well think about it if you saw him by touching Kouji they must be connected." Gatomon tried to convince her. "I'll go with you just in case, maybe I can drop something on his head so he would forget you asked."

Kari began to laugh. "Thanks Gatomon."

**That Weekend the Soccer Field**

So far both teams didn't have any luck finding each other even if they were so close. They decided to take a break and just enjoy the weekend. Both the Legendary Warriors and the Chosen Children were sitting on the bleachers watching their friend's soccer game. The digimon partners were hiding in the bushes or trees around the park and the smaller ones were being carried around in backpacks. Poor Demiveemon was stuck in Davis's duffle bag full of his soccer stuff.

It was half time and the game was tied 5 to 5, while the teams took a quick break the others were talking amongst themselves on the sidelines. They decided that they were all going to hang out after the game for some lunch and maybe catch a movie later. The girls were also thinking of going on that shopping trip that Mimi promised Zoe. Kari was supposed to talk to Kouji today but he wasn't around and neither was Kouichi. When she asked Tommy he said that Kouji wasn't feeling too well and Kouichi stayed at home with him.

"Um I really wanted to talk to him do you mind giving me his address?" She asked. Tommy wasn't sure what to do, Kouji probably didn't want visitors. "Please it's really important."

"He's at his mom's house," Zoe jumped in leaning over Tommy's shoulder and giving Kari the address. "It's so cute you have a crush on him." Kari immediately turned bright red.

"No it's not like that I just really need to ask him a few questions."

"Sure it's not," Zoe grinned.

"Aww leave the poor girl alone Zoe, Kouji will probably just bite her head off and she'll move on," JP interrupted, causing Zoe to turn around to slap him and scold him for being insensitive. Tommy began to laugh as JP was assaulted so Kari took that time to slip away from the rest of the warriors. She wanted to get this over with as soon as she could, her brother wouldn't mind that she didn't watch the end of his game there would be many more.

"Hey Yolei, I have to take care of something real quick I'll meet you guys at the mall later," Kari told her as she headed toward the twin's house.

**Twin's Mom's House**

"You don't think this is just a little too forward?" Kari asked tilting her head back to her back pack where Gatomon was hidden.

"Worst comes to worse he'll just say you're insane and slam the door in your face," Gatomon's voice was mumbled from within her bag.

"That makes me feel so much better," She sighed and knocked on the door.

She felt relieved when it was Kouichi that opened the door instead of Kouji, there was a much smaller chance of the gentler twin of slamming the door in her face.

"Hello Kari, is the game over already?" Kouichi was a little surprised to see her here.

"No its not but I really need to talk to her brother it's important," She begged.

"He's asleep right now but I can wake him up," He told her inviting her into their mother's small house.

As he shut the door a voice came from the other side of the room. "I'm awake what does she want?" Kouji was in a very grumpy and in no mood for visitors. When Kari looked at him she gasped, the aura she saw around him was still there but dimming in and out she knew she needed to do something to help him.

"It's you again," Kari jumped there was a deep mellow voice that echoed through her head. Was it the same figure she saw the other day? All the while the twins were giving her odd looks because she was simply staring at Kouji.

"Um, are you okay?" Kouichi came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. As soon as his hand made contact with her shoulder Gatomon jumped out of Kari's bag and slashed at Kouichi her fur standing on end. Kouichi jumped back barely avoiding her claws and gaped at the cat digimon. They were looking at for the other children and one of them just walked into their house!

"Kari he feels like an evil digimon!" Gatomon pointed her clawed gloves at Kouichi. Kouichi still in shock that a digimon was in their house just stared at her. Kouji was much quicker to get over the cat popping out of Kari's bag.

"What did you say about my brother you stupid fur ball." Kouji was pissed, she had no idea what Kouichi had to go through, and she dared call him evil after he sacrificed so much for them.

Gatomon ignored Kouji's insult and looked at her partner expecting Kari to do something other than just continue to stare at Kouji. "Kari?"

The twins took their eyes off Gatomon to see that Kari hadn't moved an inch. "I can feel it; you carry the crest of light." Came that same voice, Kari didn't take in anything that just happened around her the aura around Kouji was taking shape. It was really blurry but she could just make out the scarf and the helmet of the same figure of your vision.

"Please let me help you," Kari said taking a few tentative steps toward Kouji who looked rather freaked out.

"Look I don't know what's wrong with you but I'm fine," He said harshly glaring at her.

"Not you," she said taking a few more steps to be within arm's reach of him. "I need to help him." She reached up and put her hand on Kouji's chest. When she came in contact with him a bright light erupted between them. Kouichi and Gatomon quickly shielded their eyes from the offending brightness. Gatomon could faintly pick up the sound of a wolf howl.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**AN: Thank you for the reviews. It's not the quantity but the quality of the reviews that count for me. I really enjoyed reading them. :)**

**Unknown**

Kari was back in the white temple she saw the other day but this time she greeted the figure standing in the center with a smile. As she got closer to him he stood up from his sitting position in the middle of the floor.

"You carry a very strong trinket child," He told her crossing his arms across his chest. "Where did you get that?"

"My name is Hikari Yagami, I'm the holder of the crest of light," She introduced herself. "Gennai gave us back our crests so we can help take back the Digital World from Daemon. But they aren't as strong as they used to be." She looked down dejectedly.

"That's because you don't know how to harness the powers inside of you. The crests chose you because of your personality traits. Look deep inside yourself and find that power." He informed her.

Suddenly Kari remembered the final battle they had with Apocalomon. In that fight they didn't have their tags and crests they had the power inside of them the whole time. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands in front of her chest. He said the power was inside of her she just needed to find it.

As she was concentrating her crest began to glow and so did the pillars around her. When she finally opened her eyes she was shocked to see the room glowing even the digimon, she assumed that he was one, was glowing along with the rest of the room.

"That feels so much better now. Thank you." He sighed deeply and nodded at her. "I am Lobomon the warrior of light. I am honored to be fighting with you, but we have a much bigger problem to solve first," Kari looked a bit worried what was worse than the fate of the worlds. "You better control your partner's mouth before Kouji strangles her for talking about his brother like that." He smiled.

Kari couldn't hold back a laugh. "I will try, but why did she call Kouichi an evil digimon?" She asked.

"You need to understand that light and darkness does not represent good and evil they are mainly opposites. Like Kouji and Kouichi are brothers, his partner is Lowemon the warrior of darkness, my brother and is no more evil than I am." Lobomon tried to explain. Darkness wasn't evil? That was an idea she was still trying to wrap her head around when Lobomon interrupted her train of thought. "You best get going I sense something is approaching."

"How do I leave?" Kari asked she wasn't even sure how she got here. Lobomon lifted his hand and in a flash of light she was back in the room with three pairs of eyes staring at her.

* * *

**Back at the House**

Kari collapsed on the ground panting, she was exhausted but she smiled at the glowing crest in her hand. Gatomon was really worried and went to check on her as soon as the light between her and Kouji died.

"Kari are you okay?" She asked jumping on her shoulder.

"I'm even better in fact." Kari smiled and stood up. "And I think Kouji is going to be much better too, Lobomon has his strength back." Both of the twins were shocked that she knew about Lobomon.

"How do you know about him?" Kouichi asked taking a few more steps causing Gatomon to jump between them getting into a fighting stance. He immediately backed off hands raised in surrender.

"It's okay Gatomon, Lowemon is on our side." She smiled picking up her partner. The twins were openly gaping at her now.

"Okay how the hell do you know about them?" Kouji stalked toward her this girl knew way too much about them, and what was that light?

'She is one of the other children that are fighting for the digital world. She is also a representative of the light she restored my powers and reawakened the power of her crest. We are connected, she shared her power with me and we gave some of our power to her.' Lobomon told him. He did feel a lot better the throbbing pain in his head was gone, in fact he hadn't felt this energized before. He still didn't really trust her, but if Lobomon trusted her she would give her a chance.

"He told me about you, and that Kouichi isn't evil," She said glancing at him. "And he gave me a warning. He said something is coming and we need to get ready." As soon as those words left her mouth her D-Terminal chimed informing her of an incoming message.

'Digimon attacking the mall hurry! From Tai'

"They have started invading the real world! Come on!" Kari yelled and ran out the door. The twins glanced at each other before running after her.

* * *

**Earlier After the Soccer Game**

The game had just ended and they had won 8 to 6. The boys were all sitting around the bleachers talking congratulating Takuya, Tai, and Davis. The girls had cheered for them until the game was over then headed over to the mall. They knew that they boys didn't want to go shopping with them so they wanted to get some done before they went to grab lunch.

"That was awesome you guys!" Tommy yelled excitedly jumping up and down next to Takuya. "Your team should be able to take the championship this year."

"Of course we're going to win, because I'm on the team now." Davis puffed up his chest and pointing to himself with this thumb. Tai threw his arm around Davis's shoulders.

"You may have got a few lucky shots don't let that get to your head," Tai said ruffling his hair.

"The girls went ahead of us to get some shopping done before we grab lunch," Ken informed the rest of them.

"Great, less bags for us to carry and we don't need to get dragged around to all the clothes stores," Takuya laughed lying down on the bleachers. Some of the other guys nodded in agreement.

While the humans were talking the digimon were conversing with themselves in whispers. "You guys smell that too right?" Agumon asked the few others that were hidden in the bushes with him. All the in-training digimon, Minomon, Upamon, and Demiveemon were in their partner's bags. Poromon and Biyomon had followed the girls to the mall, since Palmon couldn't fly and was too big to fit in a bag she had stayed behind with the others.

"You're talking about the weird digimon smell right?" Gabumon clarified. "It's odd, it smells like a digimon but it's smothered, like it's being covered up by something."

"We should be on our toes and we need to inform them about this," Agumon said tilting his head to where their partners were talking. "Patamon can you sneak over there and tell Demiveemon about this?" Davis's duffle bag was the farthest from the humans and close to a row of bushes.

"Alright then we can go check the forest around here. Let's go Tentomon," Patamon said from the tree above them Tentomon quickly following him. The watched as Patamon stuck his head out of the bush to whisper to Demiveemon. The in-training opened up a small hole in the zipper of the bag to talk to him.

"Now all we need to do is wait for an opportunity to talk to them, I wish those other kids would just leave already," Gomamon complained glairing in Takuya's direction.

"We might need to wait a while then they're supposed to be meeting up with Mimi and the others then going somewhere together after that," Palmon reminded him.

"Let's just hope that Demiveemon can deliver the message to Davis," Gabumon said.

The guys had figured that they had given the girls a big enough head start to get most of their shopping done and were getting ready to meet up with them. When Davis went to pick up his bag he noticed it slightly moving.

"Stop moving Demiveemon you're going to give us away," He whispered to his partner bending down and pretending to get something from his bag.

"Davis we can smell a digimon!" Demiveemon tried to keep his voice as quiet as possible. "It's weird though, the scent is all jumbled up with other things."

"Alright I'll try to let the others know. Keep your nose out for anything else and let me know if it gets any stronger," Davis told him.

"Hurry up Davis you can't have that much stuff to put away," Tommy yelled at him. The others were already packed up and waiting for him near the edge of the field. Davis quickly zipping up his bag making sure to leave a small hole for Demiveemon to see out of and ran to catch up with his friends.

"Sorry about that I couldn't get some of my stuff to fit," He quickly lied.

"Well let's get going, can't keep the girls waiting too long," Takuya said slinging an arm around Davis's shoulders when he finally reached the group.

Without thinking Demiveemon jumped out of the opening in Davis's bag and attached himself to Takuya's jersey burying his face in his chest, making Takuya jump with a shout of 'What the hell!' The chosen all had similar looks of terror and shock on their faces. How were they going to cover this up?! What was Demiveemon thinking?!

Finally taking his face out of Takuya's chest Demiveemon gave a cry of triumph. "I found it! Davis the digimon smell is coming from him!" He climbed up to Takuya's head and jumped up and down in victory.

Tommy and JP were staring mouths wide open, there was a digimon openly dancing on Takuya's head. This had to be one of the partner's that their spirits told them about; this little guy didn't look dangerous at all.

Before the chosen could come up with any ideas on how to cover up Demiveemon, who was now doing some sort of little victory dance, Takuya started laughing hysterically pulling Demiveemon from on top of his head.

"Hey little buddy you sure being stuck in Davis's disgusting bag just hasn't messed up your nose?" He asked the little digimon. Now the chosen were staring at him bug eyed. He wasn't freaked out some monster just jumped out at him and now they were talking like they were old friends.

"Hey don't make fun of Davis, it's not his fault his stuff is smelly." Demiveemon tried to defend his partner only to make Takuya and Tommy laugh.

"Well guess our search is over then," JP said going over to pat Demiveemon on the head. Looking toward the rest of the children he asked, "So do all of you have partners then?"

"What a second how do you guys know about Digimon?" Izzy asked. JP rolled his eyes.

"Isn't it obvious, I assume you guys were looking for the Legendary Warriors just like we were looking for you guys? We were told were supposed to work together or something like that," JP said smugly.

"You're the Legendary Warriors?" Joe asked.

"Yup! That's us!" Takuya cheered.

"I hope you didn't put too much faith in us, at this point we're not much use to anyone, we can't change into our digimon forms and using their powers tires us out big time." JP informed them.

"Don't be such a downer JP we'll figure all this stuff out eventually," Takuya said passing Demiveemon back to Davis.

"Wait a minute," Interrupted Cody, "You guys turn into digimon?"

"Yup we became one with our spirits. The only thing is that we haven't figured out how to spirit evolve yet. But it looks like we can use some of their powers in our human form," Takuya tried to explain; unfortunately the only ones that seemed to understand were Ken and Izzy. "We're still a little rusty though; I nearly burned down Kouji's house," He laughed. "So how are we supposed to do this, all we know is that we power each other up somehow?"

"I haven't gotten the details from Gennai since we were concentrating more on finding you first." Izzy said. "We should go get the girls then I can contact Gennai."

"Wait I want to meet your partners first, it's been ages since we've had any contact with digimon," Tommy interrupted.

"Well they're hiding in the bushes over there, come see them." Tai beckoned them toward where the rest of the partner digimon were hiding.

* * *

**At the Mall with the Girls**

The girls knew they boys probably didn't want to be dragged around the mall all day so they wanted to get some much needed shopping done before they needed to meet up with them. Each of them had a shopping bag in hand and now they were just roaming. They climbed to the top of the building which was about five stories high to wait for the boys near the food court.

"Where are they? I'm starving!" Yolei yelled.

"You would think the boys would be here already they're always hungry," Zoe giggled.

"They should be on their way here soon don't worry," Sora smiled at them. Yolei sighed and slouched on to the bench they were all seated on making Mimi laugh.

"We really should do this more; none of the boys ever want to go shopping with me," Zoe told the others.

"Why do you always hang out with them anyway?" Mimi asked she noticed whenever she saw the older girl she was always surrounded with the same group of boys.

"They were my first true friends and we've just been through a lot together that's all," Zoe said that was more or less the truth she can't just go telling everyone that they saved a whole entire world together. Her answer seemed to satisfy the others.

Suddenly there was an explosion outside that rocked the building. Most people were knocked off their feet and others rushed to the window to see what was going on. When the girls got their bearings again they rushed to see the commotion coming from outside. There was a large group of digimon trashing the town! Some of the few that stuck out were DarkTyrannomon, Snimon, Flymon, Ladydevimon, Karatenmon and the common horde of Bakemon. There was also a bunch of other digimon that they didn't recognize. The invasion of the human world had begun.

"Enjoying the view ladies?" Came a voice from behind them. When the four of them whipped around they saw a woman in a red dress and hat with long white hair.

"Arukenimon," Yolei growled at the woman. Zoe looked at her shocked that woman was a digimon that didn't make sense. Well she was one now, but that was because of her spirits. Looking at the other two girls they all had similar expressions on their faces: recognition.

"Where are your little friends it won't be any fun to destroy you without any effort," She taunted them, then she began to transform to her digimon form. When she straightened she rolled her shoulders and grinned creepily at them.

"Wow and I thought you looked creepy before," Zoe said she wasn't much of a fan of spiders.

"What! How dare you bitch!" She raised her hands at Zoe and unleashed a 'Spider Thread' attack. Zoe was ready for some kind of assault and easily dove out of the way. Arukenimon growled. "I'm not here for you I'm here to destroy them."

"What did they do to you?" Zoe shouted at her, she could take care of herself she but her friends were sitting ducks.

"Shut up!" Yolei harshly whispered at her, was her friend insane taunting the ultimate digimon?!

Arukenimon cackled. "Don't you know? Your friends are the Chosen Children they have been messing with digimon like me countless times, but then again if they really were your friends they would have told you that wouldn't they?" She was trying to force a rift between Zoe and the other girls, make them feel isolated from the rest of the human population that didn't know about digimon. Humans rely on their feeling way too much for her tastes.

"That's not true Zoe! We are your friends!" Mimi shouted desperately. She really liked the older girl; she didn't want her to believe that they were keeping life changing secret, which they were, but it wasn't because they didn't trust her or anything.

"You guys really are the Chosen Children?" Zoe asked turning to face them.

"Yes," Sora said looking down, lying to her would only make it worse.

"Humans are so fragile." Arukenimon laughed launching a steam of poisonous gas at the three chosen. Yolei, Sora, and Mimi had forgotten about Arukenimon and were not ready for the attack that was quickly heading toward them. They couldn't do anything their partners outside; they closed their eyes waiting for impact.

Before her attack could reach them it was blown away by a strong gust of wind. All heads turned toward the direction the blast came from to see Zoe with her left hand extended in front of her. She smirked at them putting her hand on her hip.

"Seriously, of course they didn't tell me I mean who would believe them if they said they went to another world full of monsters," Zoe told them making everyone's jaw drop. "But now I know that they are the Chosen that makes us more than friends now, were teammates." She started walking toward them and going between the three girls and Arukenimon.

"What are you doing!? She's dangerous!" Sora yelled at her, as Arukenimon started to charge at them.

Zoe smiled over her shoulder at her terrified friends. "Don't worry so am I." She turned back around as Arukenimon was a few feet from her and thrust both hands forward releasing a strong gust of wind blowing the unsuspecting digimon off her feet and knocking her into multiple tables.

"How did you do that?!" Sora asked. Zoe only giggled.

"Isn't it obvious, I'm one of the Legendary Warriors."

"You're a what?!" Yolei shouted making Zoe flinch.

"I'll tell you later but first we need to get out of here before she gets up."

Too late Arukenimon was on her feet and tackled Zoe before she had a chance to turn back around. In her human form Zoe had no chance against the spider digimon and crashed into the wall Arukenimon pinning her there. "Some Legendary Warrior you are your little puffs of wind don't even hurt." She grabbed Zoe by her throat lifting her up. "You're no warrior you're just a pathetic little girl." Ignoring the protests and insults being thrown at her from the other girls she threw Zoe at the window with all her might making the girl crash through the glass and start plummeting toward the ground.

* * *

**With Zoe**

Besides the pain from being chocked and shoved through a window Zoe could barely feel the wind rushing past her as she plummeted toward the ground. She never had a fear of heights and she never could see herself dying from a fall.

Time seemed to slow as she closed her eyes not wanting to see the ground rushing up to meet her. 'Have you forgotten how to fly Izumi?' she opened her eyes when she heard Kazemon's gentle voice. 'We are always with you don't forget that.' Kazemon's voice slowly faded away.

How could she fly if she didn't have wings? No, she had wings she just needed to use them; she needed to remember how to fly. Closing her eyes again she remembered how it felt to soar through the sky effortlessly. She imagined the translucent wings that belonged to Kazemon, which belonged to her now. About fifteen feet from the ground her eyes sprung open and wings erupted from her back.

**Back with the Other Girls**

Sora gasped as he watched Zoe fall through the window. When her friend fell out of sight she collapsed to the ground raising both hands to her mouth and silently began to cry. Mimi and Yolei tried to comfort each other but both were failing terribly tears rolling down their faces. They couldn't believe it their friend was dead there was no way she could survive a fall from this height. Arukenimon laughed and turned back toward the girls.

"That was much easier than I thought to dispose of a so called Legendary Warrior," She laughed slowly approaching the defeated girls. "Now with your pathetic little partners missing you're going to meet the same fate."

Before she could launch an attack at the broken girls she was hit from behind and crashed into the wall. Zoe landed in front of her friends glaring at the spider digimon as she pulled herself up from the rubble of the crumbling wall.

"Don't touch my friends!" Zoe growled at her. She had a bright pink glow around her and Kazemon's wings fluttered slightly behind her.

They battled for a few minutes, spider webs and gusts of energized wind were shot back and forth. Zoe was already exhausted and her back was starting to hurt. If using her spirits powers made her tired what would using a physical part of Kazemon do? She knew she was running out of stream and had to end it quickly, but she knew she didn't have the power to destroy her. That left only one other option, they had to escape; and sending Arukenimon through the same window she was thrown out of seemed quite nice.

When Arukenimon tried one more time to hit her with a 'Spider Thread' Zoe gave her wings a strong flap, lifting her up into the air and leading into a front flip. When we landed she was standing behind Arukenimon. Before she had a chance to turn around Zoe put all her remaining strength into a final attack. A stronger gust of wind enforced with pink blades that looked almost exactly like Zephermon's 'Hurricane Gale'. The stronger attack blasted Arukenimon through the wall to plummet to the street below.

Panting, Zoe slowly lowered her arms from their outstretched position, with her opponent gone the adrenaline fueling her body slowly left her only to be instantly replaced with a searing pain from her spine. She collapsed to the ground with a cry of pain wrapping her arms around herself the glow around her fading along with her wings.

Her friends immediately rushed to her side to check on her. "Zoe are you okay?" Sora asked putting her hand on her shoulder making her flinch.

"Are you kidding she just had freaking butterfly wings and she beat Arukenimon! I don't think she's all right!" Yolei was just having a little freak out.

"It feels like someone took a chainsaw to my back," Zoe panted sweat streaming down her face. Mimi shared a glance with Sora both were really worried for their friend. Then they got a message from Tai on their D-Terminals. Now they could hear the noise of combat coming from outside, the others must have reached the mall and were now engaging the enemy digimon.

"Zoe we need to get outside can you walk?" Sora asked she was afraid to move her she looked like she was in a lot of pain. Zoe slowly sat up and nodded slightly. Sora and Yolei each had one of Zoe's arms around their shoulders to help support her and with Mimi taking up the rear they slowly made their way to the street.

* * *

**Outside the Mall**

When the boys reached the mall they found the streets being rampaged by digimon. By the looks of it they were being lead by Ladydevimon who hovered above them watching the destruction. Without hesitation the partner digimon ran in to join the fray. By the time they reached the center of the destruction they had all reached the champion level and were attacking the other digimon.

"Where did all these digimon come from?" Matt asked looking around wildly.

"This is impossible the gates are all still closed tight, how did they get here?!" Izzy was typing on his laptop checking all the gates.

Stingmon and Exveemon took to the skies to try and stop the digimon that were trying to bombard them from the air. All the others worked on clearing the streets.

"Daemon can open portals to other worlds he must have sent them here." Ken reminded them.

"But we can't open a gate to send them back. What do we do?" Cody asked.

"We don't have a choice," Tai said darkly. "They need to be destroyed; even if we did send them back Daemon would only open another portal."

Unfortunately the battle was slowly turning in the enemy's direction. They were simply outnumbered and with all of them stuck at their champion forms things began to look dim.

Suddenly three new champions arrived and entered the fray. The girls had finally made it to the rest of the group allowing Birdramon, Togemon, and Aquilamon to join the fight. The boys turned to see the girls exiting the damaged building supporting Zoe between them. As the girls hobbled toward them the Bakemon took the chance to try and wipe out the occupied chosen.

They boys gave out cries of warning. The digimon were all fighting and none of them could break away to save the girls. But the Bakemon didn't reach the girls; each one was engulfed in flames, zapped by lightening or frozen in ice.

"Where'd those attacks come from?" Davis asked. But his question was answered right away when the remaining three Legendary Warriors ran toward the girls and escorting them to the rest of the group.

"What happened Zoe?" Takuya asked when they were finally grouped up and Zoe was set on the ground. She was still out of breath and shook her head unable to form words.

"She saved us from Arukenimon. She grew butterfly wings and blasted her out of the building," Mimi informed the others.

"You spirit evolved?!" Tommy exclaimed.

"No, it was only partial and I think it only happened because I thought I was going to die," Zoe explained to them between breaths. "It wasn't worth it though, now I'm completely useless I could barely make it outside."

"Wait, where's Kari?" Tai interrupted he thought she went ahead with the other girls.

"She was supposed to meet us here. She went to see Kouji about something," Yolei told him, she thought Kari would have been here by now.

"My sister is out there by herself!" Tai was afraid; Kari was out there by herself while the town was being attacked. He immediately turned and sprinted away from the group he needed to find his sister.

Before he had gotten too far he was tackled to the ground. "What's your problem!" he shouted rolling around to see who had stopped him only to see Takuya grasping his legs firmly. Standing up Takuya helped Tai up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I couldn't let you go running off just to get picked off by some digimon," Takuya explained. "It's safer if we stay together."

"Exactly that's why I need to find Kari!" Tai was furious no matter who it was no one would keep him from protecting his sister.

"If what Yolei said is right and she went to find Kouji she'll be fine. Kouji and Kouichi are one of us," Takuya said. "Don't worry Tai the yin and yang twins will look after her."

"Alright," Tai said looking down he was ashamed on how he acted he shouldn't have blown up at Takuya but he was still worried about his sister.

Then cries of warning came from their group of friends; turning around swiftly Tai saw a stray Ogremon raising his club getting ready to flatten him. Before the club could come down Tai was shoved roughly to the ground the club just grazing the tips of his hair. Takuya was now standing between Tai and Orgemon.

"Bring it ugly," Takuya taunted, flames bursting around his hands.

"Your awfully stupid human thinking you can take me on." Orgemon growled charging at Takuya.

"Takuya run!" Tai shouted, but instead Takuya ran toward the attacking digimon. Foolishly Tai jumped up and ran after him. It didn't matter who Takuya was supposed to be he was his friend and he couldn't let him rush to his death. As he raced toward his friend his crest began to glow.

**A/N: Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Orgemon charged at Takuya but before he could come in contact with him a giant wall of flame sprung up between them. The fire spread to form a circle trapping Tai and Takuya in the center.

"What's going on?" Tai asked as he ran up to Takuya who took a few backward steps away from the flames.

"Don't ask me I didn't do this." Takuya was franticly looking for a way out of the burning circle. He would be fine but Tai was another story.

'Child of courage.' A voice seemed to resonate from the flames. Takuya smiled widely looking around while Tai looked around confused.

"I'd like you to meet my partner," Takuya told him. Looking in the direction Takuya was pointing Tai could distinctly make out the shadowy form of a tall humanoid figure from within the flames. "This a Agunimon."

'We can help each other; let us merge our power together.' Came the deep rumble of Agunimon's voice. 'Even if you have reawakened the power within you crest it's not enough. Share your courage with us and my power will fuel you partner too."

Tai looked down at his crest that was now shining brightly. He smiled looking back toward Takuya who had a similar grin. "What have we got to lose?."

"Great let's do this then."

**Outside the Wall of Flame**

Glancing around the chosen took in the destruction of the once busy street. While their partners had taken a huge chunk out of the opposing digimon they were still outnumbered and they were exhausted. Even the warriors where trying to help. Even though they couldn't take on the larger digimon they made sure that the chosen were kept safe from any digimon trying to blindside them.

"What just happened?" Matt asked looking at the other warriors referring to the giant wall of fire that sprung up around Tai and Takuya.

"No idea we haven't had our spirits that long where not sure what we can do yet," JP shrugged. "My guess is that Takuya's spirits are trying to save him."

When the flames died down Tai was standing in the center of the dying flames next to a single pillar of fire while Takuya seemed to be missing. Tai was transfixed on the growing pillar of flame and didn't notice the slightly scorched Ogremon approaching him.

Tai turned to see Ogremon charging at him. Instead of panicking he just smirked at him. The other children began to shout words of warning which were ignored. Before Orgemon's 'Pummle Wack' could make contact, part of the flame pillar shot out catching Orgemon around the middle and throwing him back effortlessly.

The pillar of fire then began to take shape. It shrunk until it resembled the shape of a dragon; the other warriors recognized the figure of BurningGreymon. After a few more seconds the fire seemed to form a physical shape but was still only composed of fire. The figure turned to look at the stunned Orgemon and blasted it with an immense flamethrower leaving a scorch mark where Orgemon once laid. With a roar and a flap of its mighty wings it took to the skies and made a bee line to where Greymon was struggling to hold off DarkTyrannomon. The two of them were trying their best to push each other back but Greymon was being forced to his knees.

Once DarkTyrannomon had successfully thrown Greymon to the ground he began to charge a 'Fire Blast' attack. Before the fire attack could be launched the dragon slammed into him causing the attack to misfire and take a chunk out of a building instead.

"Now Greymon digivolve again!" Tai yelled holding up his digivice in one hand and the glowing crest in the other.

Using the dragon as a distraction Greymon took the opportunity to reach the ultimate level. When the glow of the digivolution faded and MetalGreymon appeared, the flaming warrior disengaged from his fight with DarkTyrannomon leaving the confused digimon wide open for a 'Giga Blaster'. The attack was a direct hit and when the smoke of the explosion cleared there was nothing remaining except a small creator.

"Now that's what I'm talking about." A deeper version of Takuya voice came from the dragon before flying off to assist the other partners in battle.

"That sounded like Takuya," Matt said slightly confused.

"That's because it was, but what was that? It looked kind of like BuringGreymon but it didn't form properly," Tommy said.

"And Greymon digivolved that means Tai reactivated his crest," Joe said, looking at Izzy for conformation.

"I'm not sure how it happened," Izzy grumbled he was used to knowing the answers to these things and being able to figure them out on the spot.

"Gennai was right about us working together," Tai said rejoining the others. "Looks like the crests aren't strong enough to get them to ultimate alone. But it's enough to help you guys evolve." He gestured toward Tommy, JP, and Zoe. "Agunimon told me that if I use my crest to help him and Takuya they would use their combined strength to help Agumon. Looks like it worked."

"But that's not what it's supposed to be like," JP told him. "It looks like he took the form of his beast spirit but it's like the skin was torn away and his insides are just made of fire."

"So the evolution isn't complete then?" Ken asked the warrior's digivolution was complicated.

"It looks like his elemental powers were just amplified but he couldn't complete a full evolution," Tommy said even though he was almost as confused as the others.

"We should figure all this out later were kind of a middle of a fight here!" Matt interrupted them.

With the addition of the new ultimate and Takuya the tide was slowly turning, the numbers of attacking digimon were lessening. Some of the other digimon were even retreating.

"Well looks like we win this one," Davis said confidently glancing around the wrecked street. He was interrupted by a loud roar; they all turned to see MetalGreymon revert back to Koromon after an attack from LadyDevimon. She was tired of seeing her forces pushed back so effortlessly and decided to even the playing field. Now that MetalGreymon was taken out the next target was Takuya, she didn't think the champions were worth her time.

Takuya knew she was coming after him and meet her head on. He flew towards her and blocked her claws as she tried to slash at him with fiery talons of his own. As LadyDevimon and Takuya a traded blows ExVeemon and Stingmon tried to lend a hand but was quickly swatted away by LadyDevimon. Takuya was tiring; keeping up this form was hard work. It was starting to feel like his body was literally on fire. When MetalGreymon was fighting he felt a constant power flowing between them but now it was gone and he was starting to fade.

He was getting sloppy and LadyDevimon quickly picked up on it and slashed at one of his wings. Unbalanced Takuya was forced to make an emergency landing and slammed into the ground. His form was wavering, the fire surrounding him was smaller and BuringGreymon's shape was blurring.

"You may have some new toys children but you still can't defeat me," LadyDevimon cackled raising a clawed hand getting ready to decapitate him. Before she could bring her hand down she was stopped as a white arrow sliced her side. With a shriek of pain she lifted off into the air again to come face to face with Angewomon.

"You again," She spat holding her wounded side.

"I missed you too," Angewoman sneered, before engaging in combat with the fallen angel.

Seeing as he was saved, Takuya slumped to the ground the flames around him dying reveling his human form with bits of the flame still clinging to his skin. Immediately JP and Tai went to check on him, bringing him closer to the group.

"She got here just in time," Takuya panted. "Who's she?"

"That's Kari's partner Angewomon, she and LadyDevimon hold quite a grudge against each other," Tai told him. "If she's here then Kari must be close."

"And Gatomon digivolved that mean that Kari reactivated her crest," Sora said excitedly.

"Don't get too excited yet brats." Arukenimon slinked toward them coming around a pile of rubble. She looked like she was put through a blender, multiple cuts littered her body and her right arm appeared to be broken, and she was limping.

"Now for sure you can't escape. Your partners are all occupied and those weaklings are already exhausted." She pointed at the Legendary Warriors, her eyes then focusing on Zoe. "I'll make you pay for what you did to me." The other girls stepped closer to Zoe trying to protect her.

"I'll enjoy hearing you scream while I kill yo…" Arukenimon was cut off as giant glowing jaws snapped shut around her body. She screamed as what looked like a giant wolf made of a bluish white energy tore her torso away from her lower body. The screams were cut off instantly as she disintegrated. Saying the chosen were startled was an understatement they were still gawking at the creature in front of them until Takuya had to go and ruin the mood.

"That is disgusting Kouji. You just put that _thing_ into your mouth; you don't know where it's been!" Takuya shouted waving his arms around wildly.

The wolf turned and glared at him before crouching down and letting his two unnoticed passengers off from his back. Kouichi jumped off first, and then extended his hand to help Kari down.

"Thanks for the lift," Kari giggled patting the giant creature on its side. It gave her an irritated grumble before it pounced on a Deltamon that had Garurumon pinned with it's skull hand.

"So that thing is Kouji?" Matt asked while watching Kouji and his partner finish off Deltamon.

"Yeah, on the way here he and Gatomon just started glowing." Kouichi tried to explain the best he could. "Then all of a sudden they both evolved were not quite sure how but it probably has something to do with that." He gestured toward Kari's crest that was still glowing.

The battle between Angewomon and LadyDevimon was reaching its peak. Both of them were panting heavily and had multiple wounds.

"I won't lose to you this time Lord Lucemon expects me to hold our position in the human world." LadyDevimon panted. A dark aura surrounded her she was intending to finish the battle quickly. Her clawed hand shot out as she tried to impale Angewoman. The angel dodged slowly leading her opponent closer to the ground. "Coward! Where are you going?" LadyDevimon cried continuing to slash at her.

"I'm just the bait." Angewoman smirked at her. Kouji took his chance and lunged at LadyDevimon slashing at her back. The fallen angel cried out in pain before swiftly turning around and slicing Kouji's shoulder open. Blood spattered the street from the wound on Kouji's shoulder. The glow around him faded and the wolf shape began melting away.

"I'll kill you first for interfering." She glared at Kouji who was now in his human form holding his bleeding shoulder.

He smirked at her, "Your quite easily distracted aren't you." LadyDevimon was confused, what was this kid talking about. Then a gleaming white arrow pierced through her chest. She screamed in agony as it burned through her flesh, the dark aura around her dissipating before she dissolved into digital bits.

With their commander destroyed the rest of the digimon began to retreat. With cries of victory the partners returned to their rookie forms and joined the humans who greeted them with hugs.

"We better get out of here before a crowd gathers," JP told the others who quickly scooped up their partners and were getting ready to run.

"Can you whip up a cover? Some people are already starting to come out of the buildings," Kouji asked his brother who nodded and created a dark grey fog that surrounded the group. The chosen looked a little unnerved this was a little too close to Myotismon's fog for their liking. They quickly raced after the warriors who had already taken off.

* * *

**Small Clearing in the Park**

Running all that way was exhausting the warriors already tired from fighting collapsed to the ground. "You should really get that checked; mom is going to have a heart attack if she sees that, Kouichi told his brother gesturing at the wound on his shoulder that had stained a good portion of his shirt red.

"It's fine," Kouji said bringing up his other hand to cradle his injured shoulder.

"No its not, let me see." Joe went up to him opening his bag to reveal a first aid kit. Kouji gave him a skeptical look. "It's okay; I'm going to school to be a doctor." He reassured him. Kouji just looked away but let Joe clean and bandage his wound.

"Are the rest of you okay?" Sora asked the other warriors taking a seat besides Zoe checking the other girl.

"Just tired," Takuya said lying face down in the grass. "It was awesome working with you by the way." He picked his head up and grinned at Tai and Agumon.

"So what happened to you two?" Matt asked looking at Kouji and Takuya.

"Not sure. It felt like a spirit evolution but I at the same time it didn't. I had all of my spirits power but I couldn't make him take a physical form." Takuya tried his best to explain but he was just as confused as the rest of them.

"You guys were awesome!" Davis couldn't contain his excitement any more. "You where like shooting fire and stuff then turned into some giant flaming monster. So cool!" He would have kept going if Yolei wasn't trying to shut him up making the others laugh.

"We better go see Gennai right away, he might know more about this and he can tell us how the digimon got to our world," Izzy spoke up. "I have a digiport set up on my computer at home we can contact him from there. I'll send him a message about what just happened too."

Izzy was interrupted by a cell phone ringing. It was Tommy's phone; he hurriedly fished it out of his pocket. When he answered his phone the entire group could hear the panicked voice of what they assumed was his mother. The digimon attack was all over the news and it was only natural for parents to worry about their children.

"Sorry guys but I need to go home my mom is having a panic attack," Tommy whispered covering his phone, really wanted to go with them but he couldn't think of a good excuse to give his mother why he couldn't come home.

"Let me talk to her," JP said taking the phone from him. "Hello, Mrs. Himi? This is JP, don't worry Tommy is with all of us. Where at our friends house right now and I think it's safer for us to all stay indoors just in case there are more of those things running around." The rest of the kids were impressed with his story it seemed plausible to all of them and it calmed down the worried parent.

"When everything calms down tomorrow we'll make sure to bring him home," JP finished giving Tommy back the phone. After another minute of Tommy reassuring his mother he was fine he hung up the phone giving an exasperated sigh.

"I think the rest of us should let our parents know what's going on and let's plan to spend the night at Izzy's." Tai said, the rest of the kids nodded and took out their cell phones. It was easy for the ones that had parents that knew about the digimon but the others had a little more trouble convincing their parents that it was safer for them to stay 'where they were at.'

* * *

**Izumi Residence**

"It's kind of cramped in here isn't it?" Ken said as the rest of the children piled into Izzy's room. Izzy's room wasn't the largest and fitting all those people and digimon inside gave everyone little to no personal space.

"So how are we supposed to get to the Digital World anyway?" Kouichi asked, the warriors didn't know about how the portals worked since they got to the Digital World by train.

"Our D3s can open portals to the Digital World on a computer." Ken said showing Kouichi his D3. "But now Gennai has all the gates locked up tight so he needs to open it on his side first before we can get in."

"Hey Kouichi, that looks a lot like what your D-Tector used to look like." Takuya leaned over Kouji who was standing next to his brother. Trying to look over the younger twin he put his hand on Kouji's injured shoulder making him swear loudly and shove him into the surprised Joe. That created a domino effect which led to half the group being in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Let's get going before someone gets hurt." Cody said raising his D3 and opening the port to Gennai's house.

**Gennai's House**

Gennai was waiting for them when they arrived. He was patiently sitting on a chair going over some programs on a simple grey laptop then the children landed in his house.

"Welcome back, I'm sure you have a lot of questions. I've been researching and I think I may have a few answers for you," Gennai said closing his laptop and watching as they picked themselves off the floor. "First off I would like to say it is a great pleasure to meet the Legendary Warriors," He bowed, and pulled out a ragged old book from his robe. "I've been doing some reading. This is one of the oldest records we have and it's full of information on the Legendary Warriors."

"Hey that's Bokomon's book!" Tommy ran up to Gennai who was flipping through the pages. "After he met us he filled in the ending half of the book with information he gathered when we were traveling." The warriors felt a wave of nostalgia; they missed Bokomon and Naemon their adventure wouldn't have been the same without them.

"So from what I understand you have two spirits?" Gennai began to question the warriors.

"Yes, we have a human and beast spirit, and Takuya and Kouji could merge both of them together," Zoe began to explain. "The spirits also have the power to merge together to form EmperorGreymon and MagnaGarurumon." The chosen children's eyes all turned to Matt and Tai, Greymon and Garurumon were familiar names to them but they never heard of those forms before.

"In the end when we fought Lucemon all the spirits came together to form Susanoomon," JP finished for her.

"We can't count on that now though the other spirits of steel, water, wood, and earth are missing," Kouji said.

"I'm afraid those spirits were destroyed." Gennai said ashamed. A chilling silence came over the group. Without Suanoomon how were they supposed to beat Lucemon this time?

"Well on that depressing note now that you know about us what can you guys do." Takuya didn't want to dwell on their lost comrades.

"Well basically we use our crests to help our partners reach the ultimate level. Only Agumon and Gabumon have the ability to reach mega," Izzy informed the warriors, pointing at Agumon, the lizard waved at Takuya who waved back chuckling. "The younger chosen have digieggs that their partners use to armor digivolve and their champion forms can DNA digivolve to ultimate and Paildramon can evolve again to Imperialdramon. But the power to DNA digivolve is gone so they can only reach the champion level now."

"Looks like both of our teams are in a real bind." Kouichi sighed the rest of the children had similar depressed expressions.

"Don't be so down children I think I have found a solution," Gennai said smiling, "And I think you have already figured it out."

"What do you mean?" TK asked.

"In the last battle Gatomon and Agumon reached their ultimate forms, and Kouji and Takuya took on an alternate form and were also able to fight. When you combine your powers together you can recover most if not all the strength that we lost." Gennai noticed the confused looks the children were giving him. "The warrior spirits are much weaker than they used to be and the power of the crests are depleted, I think if you guys can somehow share what's remaining of those powers it will form a stronger force."

"So what you're saying is that we need to combine the spirits power with the crests?" Ken asked.

"Yes, in a sense," Gennai nodded.

"But what about us we don't have crests." Davis butted in.

"Don't worry Davis, you and the others without crests have digieggs and that will work the same as the crests, so in theory their armor forms will be stronger than their champion ones," Gennai chucked, and then turning to the warriors he began giving them specific instructions. "Your power comes from both the spirits and yourselves; now that the spirits are weak you must learn to control their powers on your own."

"What you have some training camp set up or something?" Kouji said leaning against the wall.

"As a matter of fact I do. You need to improve both your mental and physical strength." Zoe groaned slumping to the ground P.E was bad enough, now this.

"Have fun guys." Mimi laughed patting her friend on the shoulder.

"Not so fast Mimi you guys are joining them. You guys have an important role too, you are going to be cycling the power of your partners to the warriors and then the warrior's powers back to your partners." Gennai laughed as Mimi joined her friend in her depressed state on the ground. "There should be two of you chosen partnered up with one warrior. The groups will consist of people who share similar attributes."

"This is kind of a lot to take in," Kari spoke up; she wasn't the only one who was a bit confused. "So to sum it up were breaking into groups of three, and we're going siphon the powers of the spirits and our chests between our partners and the warriors?"

"Yes, that sounds about right," Gennai nodded going over everything in his head again.

"How are we going to figure out who were working with?" Matt asked.

"I haven't figured that part out yet. There are still a lot of other things I want to look into."

"I think the partner thing should be easy. I mean Agunimon had contacted Tai on his own," Takuya said jabbing his thumb at Tai.

"And Lobomon was calling out to me," Kari spoke up looking at Koiji.

"I think it would be best for us all to get some training in and the spirits will sense who they will work best with when the time comes," Kouichi said the others nodded agreeing with them.

"I hate to change the subject Gennai but I have a question," Sora spoke up. "All the gates are supposed to be locked so how did those digimon get through?" Most of the others had forgotten about that, they are not just out to save the Digital World but now even the Real World seemed to be at risk. Gennai's gaze dropped to the ground and shoulders slumped.

"The Digital World is lost; Daemon and Lucemon have complete control of the Digital World now. Now they are moving their sights to conquering the human world."

**A/N: If that last bit is confusing let me know and I'll go back and try to make it clearer. Thanks for reading :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Emergency Edit/AN:...My god the spelling and grammar errors. I'm ashamed that I published that, I don't know how so many of those got past me and there are probably a few more that I missed. Thank you so much for the reviewers that brought this to my attention. I would love to have a beta so hopefully nothing like this happens again. If anyone is interested PM me :). Sorry again for the inconvenience.**

Chapter 5

**Gennai's House**

There were cries of shock and outrage at the news. The world was gone, completely conquered. And now their world was next. Gennai opened up his laptop and showed them a few pictures of the Digital World. Everything was destroyed, the buildings toppled, forests and fields burnt to a crisp, the only signs of life where the occasional evil digimon that wandered around.

"There are a few refugee camps hidden here and there." Gennai tried to reassure them. "I extended my house into an underground fort, there are a number of digimon living here and they all agreed to help us in any way they can."

"Well looks like we got of work ahead of us."Matt said resting his hand on Gabumon's head.

"Yeah lets get this training thing or whatever started so we can fight back." Davis said seeing those pictures really pissed him off.

"Sorry to say I don't think I'd be able to do much after today's fight. Maybe we can start tomorrow." Takuya was just as upset as he was but he was exhausted and so where the other warriors, except for Kouichi who was the only one that didn't really get involved in the fight.

"Let me show you guys around." Gennai said standing up and headed toward the door. Gennai's house had been converted into some kind of bunker. All the walls were covered in metal with a few wires sticking out here and there. Overall it didn't look very homey.

While they were walking JP broke the eerie silence with a few questions. "So you guys were talking about crests and eggs before, but what exactly are they?"

"The crests help balance the Digital World and each represent a different virtue." Izzy began to explain. "My crest is the crest of knowledge; Tai has courage, Matt friendship, Sora love, Mimi sincerity, Joe reliability, Ken kindness, TK Hope, and Kari light." The warriors didn't see how light was a virtue, but they chose not to comment about it after a sharp look from Kouji.

"The younger chosen besides Ken also have digieggs that allow their partners to armor digivolve. These eggs share the same affinity as our crests do. TK and Kari have the same digieggs as their crest but the others have two. Davis has courage and friendship, Yolei has love, and sincerity, and Cody has knowledge and reliability." Izzy finished.

"Boy that's a lot of stuff to remember." Takuya said scratching the back of his head.

"Don't worry I'm sure you'll get it eventually." Tommy said cheekily, causing Takuya to lunge at him trying to catch him in a playful headlock. Luckily for Tommy he managed to escape and hid behind Zoe.

"They don't really act like powerful warriors do they?" Agumon whispered to Gabumon who covered his mouth to hid his laughter. These children didn't seem like the warriors from the stories they grew up on.

After a few minutes of walking and passing several closed doors they arrived at a much larger, solid steel door. Gennai walked over to the side where a number pad was and punched in a sequence of numbers to unlock the door. The door slid open smoothly revealing what looked like several houses. They looked like they were built with rubble and anything else that could be salvaged. When the door opened the inhabitants of the houses began coming out.

There were several rookies such as Gazimon, Elecmon, Gotsumon, and tons of in-training and baby digimon; not the fighting force they were hoping for.

"Is this it?" TK asked looking around.

"There are others farther in they are probably working on plans to help the refugees. This is one of the few safe places left in the Digital World." Gennai said continuing along the path into the maze of tattered houses.

"This is so sad." Sora said looking around meeting the sad eyes of the digimon peeking out of the houses. The others nodded.

When they reached a much bigger sturdier looking house Gennai stepped inside greeting the digimon that were gathered around the table. Cries of joy came from the chosen as they recognized Leomon, Piximon, and Centarumon.

"Chosen children it's been a long time." Leomon said standing up to greet them. "Too bad it's not under better circumstances."

"Is this everyone that survived?" Mimi asked timidly she was afraid to know the answer.

"There are a few others. Andromon took some of the refugees to look for more supplies and food. There are other camps like these for spread out over the world for anyone that survived the initial takeover." Leomon told her.

"Are these the new kids you were talking about Gennai? Hey don't look like much." Piximon fluttered around the warriors before settling on Tommy's head and stealing his hat making the youngest warrior take a few swipes at him.

"These are the Legendary Warriors, I'm going to need your assistance in helping them realize their full powers." Gennai introduced.

"Before we can help them we need to know who their spirits are and which element they represent." Centarumon asked focusing his eye on the warriors.

"My names Takuya and my partner is Aguimon of fire." Takuya said puffing out his chest and jabbing his thumb into his chest.

"I'm Tomoki but just call me Tommy; my spirit is Kumamon the warrior of ice." Tommy said as he finally snatched his hat back from Piximon.

"Izumi or just Zoe," She began to introduce herself giving them a slight bow. "I'm Kazemon of wind."

"My names Junpei, but everyone just calls me JP. My spirit is Beetlemon warrior of thunder." JP said. He glanced at the twins who were standing a bit off to the side of the group, while everyone was waiting for them to introduce themselves. After a few seconds of silence JP walked up to them and elbowed Kouichi in the side making him jump. "This is the yin and yang twins, don't mind them they're just shy." His comment just made Kouchi blush lowering his head hiding behind his bangs and Kouji scoff at the nickname.

"Kouji, my partners Lobomon, warrior of light." Kouji said keeping his answers short. The chosen looked between Kouji and Kari. There was no way he represented light, he wasn't anything like Kari. She was sweet and kind while Kouji was harsh and sometimes a bit rude.

"Um, I'm Kouichi my partner is Lowemon, warrior of darkness." His voice died to almost a whisper at the end. And for good reason, at the mere murmur of his element all the digimon in the room took up defensive positions around their partners. The other warriors looked confused why where they so freaked out about that. Kouichi was trying his hardest to disappear behind his brother who began to glare at the others.

"Your element is darkness?" Tai asked worried. He knew Kouichi for a while and he didn't seem evil at all.

"Yeah what about it?" Kouji said aggressively stepping in front of his brother.

"All the digimon we've fought have been evil dark digimon, you can't blame us for being a little suspicious." Tai told him, Agumon nodded his head vigorously.

"I figured, when you sister's pet tried to claw his eyes out." Kouji growled pointing at Gatomon. "My brother hasn't done anything wrong." The other warriors could tell Kouji was reaching his breaking point, he was still sensitive when people insulted his brother, who could blame him they all were a bit protective of him after his near death experience.

"You attacked him?" Sora asked Gatomon.

"I just felt a dark aura approaching Kari." She looked down guiltily.

"Look you've all known Kouichi for a while and you know he's not evil." Takuya stepped in hoping to reassure the others before Kouji popped a blood vessel.

"How do you know we can trust him?" TK said outraged. "He's evil we should probably throw him out there for his comrades to pick up." That was the last straw before anyone could stop him, Kouji had grabbed TK by the front of his shirt and pinned him against the wall.

"You know nothing of what my brother did for us; how dare you blindly accuse him!" Kouji was gripping the hem of TK's shirt tightly.

"That's enough Kouji put him down." Matt stepped in putting a hand on Kouji's uninjured shoulder. He knew TK was out of line but he so was Kouji. But if he was in Kouji's shoes and someone was insulting his brother he would be upset too. Kouji slowly released his hold on TK turning his head to look at Matt.

"Darkness has always been the source of our problems; just because he's your brother do you think it's going to make a difference." TK snarled. Quick as lighting Kouji spun back around and threw a punch at TK's face. A dark cloud solidified about an inch from TK's face protecting him from Kouji's assault.

"Stop it Kouji." That was the harshest tone anyone had ever heard coming from Kouichi. "Where supposed to be working together don't start a fight over nothing."

"Nothing! Did you hear what he was saying about you." Kouji was outraged. His fist dropped to his side, the dark tendrils that wrapped around his fist faded. "And those two," he pointed at Kari and Gatomon, "Lobomon talked to her and explained everything but she doesn't even try to stick up for you." Kari looked down ashamed, Lobomon did tell her that Kouichi wasn't evil but to her darkness still was the face of evil.

"They were all getting ready to attack you but he's giving off a dark energy too." Kouji said pointing toward the back of the group. They followed his gaze to where Ken was standing rubbing the back of his neck.

"Don't drag Ken into this he hasn't done anything," Yolei said standing between Kouji and Ken.

"And what makes you think Kouichi has done anything wrong, you don't know what we went through." Zoe tried to defend her friend, she knew that Yolei was just trying to do the same but they were being unfair to Kouichi.

"Stop. We can't fight between each other, we're all friends here." Matt could practically feel the tension making the air heavier.

"Right that's why as soon as you find out what element my brother is you all turn on him." Kouji said turning his gaze to Matt.

"Kouichi is one of the nicest people I know, he isn't going to hurt anyone." Tommy joined the argument. Slowly more of the chosen and the rest of the warriors began arguing. There was an invisible line that now separated the two groups. The other digimon around the table stood up and tried to calm both sides down. With all the arguing no one noticed as Kouichi slipped past the chosen to sit next to Ken who had sat down while a slightly pained expression rubbing his neck.

"Are you alright?" He asked sitting down next to Ken making him jump, he wasn't expecting the warrior of darkness to approach him. Wormon knew why everyone was afraid of Kouchi but he didn't feel evil to him, but he inched closer to Ken all the same.

"Someone tried to use me before and put the dark spore into my neck," Ken said quietly, "It made me do horrible things; I'm ashamed to admit to some of the things I did to the digimon. But when Davis and the others saved me the spore got weaker. It doesn't affect me now but it still hurts from time to time."

"I know what you mean. I was used too, but my brother and my friends saved me and we were able to conquer the evil together. We are both lucky to have such forgiving friends." Kouichi smiled at him. "Even if the dark spore doesn't bother you as much would you like me to take it out?"

Wormmon and Ken looked at Kouichi wide-eyed. They had assumed that the dark spore was just going to be a part of him forever. "Can you do that?" Wormmon knew that the thing still reminded his partner of the terrible things he had done as the Digimon Emperor and removing it would relieve him of a great burden.

"I think so. I can feel a dark energy coming from him, and most of it is concentrated in one spot." Kouichi stood up and rested a hand on Ken's shoulder. "I think I can extract it if you want me to try."

"Yes, I would do anything to get rid of it," Ken said. Kouichi nodded moving behind Ken and placing his other hand on the back of Ken's neck. Closing his eyes he began to concentrate, he could feel the dark energy coming from a singular point in the younger boy's neck. He began to pull that darkness to his hand and slowly the dark spore began to move.

Even if the spore was relatively small Ken could feel Kouichi's tugging from every particle of his body. As the spore got closer to the surface of his skin it felt like hooks were being dragged through his insides. He couldn't hold back a scream of pain as the feeling intensified, that alerted the rest of the group to what was going on off to the side of their argument.

"What are you doing to him!?" Davis immediately ran up to his friend but was stopped by Wormmon.

"Wait he's trying to help." The worm digimon stood in front of his partner with his arms spread out in an attempt to block the other children out. After a few more agonizing seconds that seemed to span for hours, Ken finally collapsed to the ground his right hand grasping the back of his neck. He was immediately surrounded by his worried friends. Ignoring his friends questions he turned toward Kouichi who was panting, his hand clamped tightly in front of him.

"Did you get it?" Ken asked. Kouichi nodded slowly opening his hand revealing a small nickel-sized spore that was slowly rotating in his hand. The others gasped this tiny thing was hounding Ken for so many years.

"It's gone now the pain should subside soon," Kouichi smiled at him, closing his fist again crushing it causing dark wisps of smoke to erupt from the destroyed spore. Shaking his hand dispersing the remaining smoke he bowed deeply to the Chosen Children. "I know you don't trust me yet. I admit I did have problems with the darkness before but a friend told me that light and darkness are brothers and we can't exist without each other," he smiled at Kouji, "I hope that I can prove myself to you all."

The chosen traded a few glances between each other. He really didn't seem evil but after everything they had gone through it was hard to believe that someone that had the powers of darkness was not evil.

"I'm sorry for how we've treated you. Even if some of us have known you for years Kouich, but the idea of darkness not being evil is foreign to us," Tai said walking up to Kouchi and put a supportive hand on his shoulder. A few of the older kids that knew Kouichi from school smiled at him, but the others who didn't know him as well only gave him nervous glances. TK had turned his back completely refusing to accept that a thing of darkness could be 'good'.

Kouchi saw his brother continuing to glare at TK and decided he should probably calm him down before he exploded again. Seeing his brother walking up to him from the corner of his eye he turned to look at him, the anger fading from his eyes. He hissed in pain as Kouichi jabbed him in his shoulder smirking at him. "And you _little brother_, don't be picking unnecessary fights with other people." Kouichi poked him a few more times before Kouji swatted his hand away glaring at his brother. The other warriors tried to hide their laughter, they knew Kouji hated being called the 'little' brother and his scowl proved it.

The tension among the group began to subside and some apologies were exchanged. Ken, feeling slightly better went up to Kouichi and thoroughly thanked him. Most of the others also showed signs of warming up to him. Although TK still hung back avoiding the others. Kari and Matt both exchanged glances they knew it was going to be hard to get TK to soften up to the warrior of darkness.

"Now that that's cleared up we can fill you in on what's been going on," Leomon interrupted the random chatter. All the children began to gather round the table. "As you know Lucemon and Daemon have taken over the Digital World. It seems that Daemon is going to rule the Digital World and Lucemon wants to rule over the human world."

"Figures the two guys don't want to share," Gomamon joked before he was quickly hushed by Joe.

"Daemon is planning on opening portals to the human world and sending organized groups in an attempt to take over small portions of the city. Most of the time there is one ultimate or mega level that's in charge of the group." Leomon continued. "They are using this method instead of using one big army to cover more ground. They were probably only testing you with that first group that got through."

"So we should be expecting more attacks with stronger opponents now that we fought off the scouting team?" Kouji asked, receiving nods from the other digimon around the table.

"That means we start training early tomorrow morning!" Piximon cheered flying around the children.

"Last time your training consisted of us cleaning your house. I don't think that will help us at all," Matt said.

"Oh no, it will be much harder this time around," Piximon smiled.

"Well if we need to start early then we might as well get some food then head to bed, it's been a long day," Tai said as he headed toward the door followed by the rest of the children.

**Later that Night**

The children felt bad eating the rations that the other digimon worked hard in finding, the digimon on the other hand were glad to share their food with the people that were supposed to be saving them. They couldn't do much so they wanted to help in any way they could. The food had been prepared by Digitamamon another familiar face to the Chosen Children. They all made sure that the food was going to be on the house or they would end up spending the rest of their lives slaving away in his kitchen.

"This stuff tastes pretty good, but I don't understand how a guy with no arms can cook so well," Takuya said taking the last bite of his food. His comment caused Davis to laugh making him choke on his food. Veemon decided to help by giving his partner a few strong hits to his back. With Veemon's pounding the food that was lodged in Davis's throat was loosened and some of it ended up getting sprayed on the table.

"That's gross man," Tai laughed protecting his plate from any more bits of food that came from Davis.

"Why are boys so disgusting!?" Zoe grumbled taking the napkin Mimi handed her to wipe the bits of chewed food off of her shirt.

"This stuff tastes way better that the noodles that Deramon gave us," JP said between bites.

"Or anything that Takuya and Kouji makes," Tommy teased all the people that had to suffer from their cooking laughed.

"Hey my cooking isn't that bad," Takuya defended, he had been practicing. Kouji shook his head chuckling. "It's better than anything you could make." That started a whole new argument between them.

"And I thought we used to fight a lot, Matt said turning to Tai.

"Yeah those two fight twice as much as we ever did," Tai agreed. Dinner ended on a rather pleasant note; besides the bickering of Takuya and Kouji.

**In one of the Guestrooms **

TK was lying on the bed with Patamon on his stomach, and Matt and Gabumon were lying on the other bed. TK was petting Patamon when Matt got up to sit next to his brother.

"I know you're upset TK but Kouichi's a nice guy; just give him a chance." Matt knew his brother was upset at how easily the rest of the kids trusted Kouichi.

"We always fought darkness in the past what makes it suddenly different now?" he turned over away from Matt clutching Patamon to his chest, "I won't let them take him away again."

"It's different because this is a different battle now and we can't just lock him out we need him," He tried to convince his brother. Their argument wasn't really going anywhere until they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Matt got up to open the door reveling Kari standing nervously in the doorway with Gatomon next to her.

"Kari, come in," Matt invited, he wasn't expecting her to be here. She thanked Matt and walked over to the bed and sat next to TK putting a hand on his shoulder.

"TK?" She asked; she was confused, like TK, she believed that darkness was evil but Kouichi seemed sincere and what Lobomon told her was still lingering in the back of her mind. He turned over making eye contact with her.

"What do you think about this?" TK asked if anyone felt the same way it would be Kari. She was the child of light after all, but then what about Kouji? He was the warrior of light, and Kouichi's twin, it was all so complicated.

"I think we should give him a chance," She murmured.

"What!" He jumped up causing Patamon to topple to the ground. The stunned digimon shook himself before going to stand next to Gatomon. Patamon looked at his partner with sad eyes, he knew what TK was going though but wasn't sure how to help him. TK was stunned he thought Kari would agree with him whole heartily.

"He doesn't seem evil and after what Lobomon said…" She trailed off looking at the ground.

"What did he say?" Matt asked lying down on the bed across them.

"He said that light and darkness doesn't represent good and evil they are just opposites. They are equals, brothers."

"According the the stories, the Legendary Warriors all fought with the best intentions, Lowemon included," Gabumon threw in, the other digimon nodded.

"I did feel a dark energy around him but there wasn't any malice coming from him," Gatomon told them about the feeling she got from the warrior of darkness.

"And he helped Ken," Patamon added.

"I still don't trust him, but I'll give him a chance." TK gave in. Kari and Matt shared a smile.

"Don't worry, if he shows any signs of being evil you can be the first to blast him," Matt joked. Kari stood up and gave TK a friendly hug before she headed back to her room.

"Don't worry TK, everything will work out, we'll all look out for each other." She smiled at him before closing the door.

"Feeling better now?" Matt asked his brother.

"A little."

"Well let's get some shut eye we have an early start tomorrow." Matt turned off the light and jumped in bed next to Gabumon who was already tucked in. "Good night."

**The Twin's Room**

Joe stopped by the twin's room to double check on Kouji's shoulder with Izzy and their partners tagging along. Kouji was sitting on the floor while Joe was checking his wound; Kouichi and Izzy were sitting on the bed.

"Wow that's amazing," Joe said as he finished up cleaning the gash. "The cut is much shallower, normally it would take a few days to heal this much." The cut on Kouji's shoulder had shrunk to about half its original size.

"I guess being part digimon makes us recover faster, that's good to know," Kouichi said.

"But that doesn't mean that you should go putting yourselves in unnecessary danger," Izzy warned them.

"Make sure to tell that to Takuya," Kouji said over his shoulder as Joe finished applying the new bandage. His comment made the others chuckle, they all knew how hot-headed and reckless the warrior of fire could be.

"There you go, your shoulder should be good by tomorrow judging by how you heal so fast," Joe said as he stood up. Kouji just nodded and walked toward the other bed. Koichi sighed he knew his brother was proud but his bad mood was probably affecting his manners too.

"Thanks Joe." Kouichi thanked him in place of his brother. Joe just smiled at him not at all bothered by Kouji's attitude.

"Not to be rude or anything but you two don't match your elements at all," Gomamon said looking back and forth between the twins. Joe immediately apologized for his partner's blunt question.

"Don't worry about it. If you look at it from a different perspective we actually do match," Kouichi began to explain. "You see light is bright and illuminating, and Kouji is more outgoing and confident than I am. While darkness is more passive and quiet, and I know I'm a bit on the shy side."

"Now that you say it that way it does make sense," Izzy nodded. "I'm sorry for how my friends treated you but we never viewed darkness as anything but evil before."

"It's alright." Kouchi just smiled at him. Kouji scoffed turning away from them making Kouichi through a pillow at him. "Well it's getting late and we have to get up early tomorrow I think it's time we went to bed."

After exchanging good nights Izzy and Joe filed out of the room with their partners in tow. Kouichi shut off the lights before climbing into one of the beds. He was just about to drift off to sleep until Kouji's voice woke him.

"You don't have to take that from them." His voice was soft, but in the silent night Kouichi heard his brother's voice clearly. To most people Kouji's voice sounded rough and angry, but Kouchi could pick out the worried undertone it carried.

"Everyone is entitled to their opinion, they don't know what we went through but we don't know what happened to them either. It's not right for us to judge one another only by our experiences." Kouichi was a little hurt by their reaction at first, but he got over it quickly after coming to the conclusion he shared with his brother.

"You are way to kind for you own good."

"That's why I have you to get upset for me." Both twins let out soft chuckles before drifting off to sleep.

**A/N Thank you all for reading and for leaving the great reviews! Next week's chapter might be a few days late (Saturday or Sunday rather than the normal Thursday) some of my ideas are going to be reworked and tweaked and I want to put out a quality product.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

At around six in the morning, most of the children were waking up. It took a few minutes but after everyone was ready, they gathered together to get some breakfast before they began whatever Piximon had in store for them.

"Hey, where are Davis and Takuya?" Sora asked after doing a head count.

"I'll give you one guess," Zoe sighed and headed off toward the one of the boy's room with Tommy and Yolei following her. Zoe walked past some of the other room's their friends stayed in before stopping at a closed door. Without even stopping to knock, she just barged straight in. Tommy and Yolei traded confused glances before following her.

Davis, Veemon, and Takuya were still fast asleep, all three of them producing loud obnoxious snores. They lay in their beds tangled in the sheets with limbs flayed out. Zoe and Yolei both shook their heads at their teammates while Tommy laughed loudly.

"Why don't we give them a nice _chilly _wake up call?" Zoe grinned mischievously at Tommy.

"Sure." He knew exactly what she was thinking and began to create small ice cubes between his palms. Yolei quickly picked up on their scheme and covered her mouth to stifle her laughter.

When Tommy had created two large handfuls of ice cubes Zoe made a gentle breeze to lift the shirts of the sleeping boys. Using the opening from Zoe, Tommy slipped bunches of ice beneath their shirts. Tommy, Zoe, and Yolei all ran out of the room laughing while Davis and Takuya's screams echoed through the house.

* * *

But the time Davis and Takuya finally reached the rest of the group, they were rather grumpy. "That was mean." Takuya glared at Tommy.

"That's what you guys get for sleeping in, "JP teased, "now that you're here, let's grab some breakfast."

After they finished their breakfast, they headed to the same building they had met in yesterday that Davis had playfully dubbed 'HQ'. They were reprimanded by Piximon for being late. Davis and Takuya both looked away to avoid the heated glares of their friends.

"Since you were late I'll make sure to work you extra hard." Piximon flew out the room waving at the children to follow.

"Great~," JP groaned.

Piximon lead the group back toward the steel door that sealed the housing area. About half way back to the area Gennai lives in, they turned down a new corridor to another locked door.

"I can see why there's security by the houses but why have some in the training area?" Ken asked.

"That's because Gennai and Centarumon are messing with some programs to try and make a special field that will allow the Legendary Warrior spirits to temporarily have their own physical forms," Piximon answered getting shocked expressions from the warriors. "This room is going to amplify your abilities so you can practice more control," he turned his gaze from the warrior to the chosen children. "This room should have some effects on you too. In theory, you should be able to transfer your strength to your partners making them stronger than they originally were, you should be able to manipulate your energy more in here."

"How do we do that?" Izzy asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, that is something you need to figure out on your own. Well why don't we check with Gennai first? I think the training area still needs a few adjustments," Piximon said unlocking the door.

The training room was about the size of three soccer fields. A large section in the back was left clear for a large open arena with a white box painted on the floor, most likely a sparing area. The children recognized some gym equipment and what looked similar to a military obstacle course.

Gennai and Centarumon were standing next to one of the walls, focusing on Gennai's laptop that was connected to a socket in the steel plated wall. Both of them had frustrated expressions on their face as Gennai typed furiously on his laptop.

"No luck yet, Gennai?" Piximon asked as he landed next to him.

Gennai shook his head and stopped typing. "It's almost complete. There are, unfortunately, still a few bugs in the program that we can't get rid of. Can I borrow Izzy for today, Piximon? I would really appreciate his help."

"Of course," Piximon said. Gennai handed the laptop over to Izzy who began looking over the system.

"Can I help?" JP asked walking up to them, "I'm pretty good with electronics and things."

"Sure, the faster we can get this working the better," Gennai said, motioning for JP to come over to them. The rest of the children watched as Izzy began typing on the computer and JP occasionally pointed at the screen and made a comment. Most of the kids didn't understand the computer lingo and were completely lost.

"While they work on that, let's get you guys started." Piximon zoomed between the remaining children. He led them toward the exercising equipment. "Until you guys find out who your warrior partner is going to be, you should just work on your stamina. From what I could get from Izzy, most of the power is coming from the spirits. It's okay for now but with the constant fighting that is to be expected, they won't be able to keep that up. You warriors need the exercise anyway. Let's get you all in shape!"

"So what you're saying is that the power needs to come from us instead?" Cody asked.

"Yes and no. You need to provide them with some of your strength so they don't burn out but they will still be putting in too; it's a partnership," Piximon informed them.

"This means I actually need to work out and get all sweaty?!" Mimi exclaimed.

"Don't worry Mimi it's more fun to work out with friends," Sora said, leading her friend over to what looked like an elliptical.

"Have fun," Palmon teased. He waved as they walked away.

"And don't get comfy you lot. You need the training just as much as they do." Piximon pointed his spear at the partner digimon who were settling down.

"Aww but we do most of the fighting anyway, isn't that enough?" Veemon asked flopping to the ground.

"Nope, now get going." Piximon made sure to poke him with his staff a little harder than necessary.

"Kari and I already know who were working with, so what do we do?" Tai asked.

"Hmm, well then you can try to get that link established between the warrior and your partner. The first time it happened may have been just on a whim, you need to be able to form that bond instantly." Piximon explained.

Piximon led the rest of them to the open area. "Apparently you two came the closest to spirit evolving, but now we need to make sure that that way is dependable. Try doing it again."

Both of them closed their eyes again and searched for the power that lay within them. They could feel their spirits presence, but not as strongly as when they fought.

"I feel him but I can't take whatever form that was again," Takuya said disappointed, the frustrated look on Kouji's face told them he was in the same boat.

"Hmm, I thought this much. You can't reach that form on your own; you're going to need the power of the crests," Piximon though out loud, crossing his arms and landing between them. "You need to form a bond with the legendary spirit, and then use your crest just like if you were evolving your partner."

Deep in thought, Piximon tilted his head from side to side. "When they took that alternate form, let's call it shadow form since it's a mere shadow of the Legendary Warriors." Takuya nodded in approval. "Did you guys feel anything when that happened?" Piximon asked Agumon and Gatomon.

"Well besides the normal evolution, there was huge surge of power!" Agumon exclaimed waving his arms for emphasis.

"It was more than just the power of the crest," Gatomon added. "But I don't know where that power came from."

After listening to the conversation the digimon were having Kari came up with an idea. She walked over to an unaware Kouji and grabbed his hand. His gaze quickly turned from the talking digimon to Kari. He gave her a stern look before yanking his hand back.

"What are you doing?" He growled at her.

"We need to find a way to form that bond between the spirits and the first time I touched you I could feel Lobomon's spirit," Kari explained, embarrassed. She was trying hard to hide a blush from her face. Kouji still held firm not moving an inch, making Kari's blush deepen.

"Come on Kouji, just hold the cute girls hand." Takuya smiled brightly behind his friend. Kari's face was bright red now; Gatomon walked up to her partner and put a reassuring paw on her leg. But she couldn't help the giggle that escaped from watching her partner's predicament.

"That's my sister you talking about!" Tai said, lightly shoving Takuya.

"Hey, I'm giving her a compliment," Takuya said, holding his hands up innocently.

Kouji sighed before extending his hand out for Kari to hold, shocking everyone. "Just this once," Kouji said looking away.

Kari nodded gently grasping his hand in both of hers. She closed her eyes and tried to feel for that same presence that first called out to her. 'Are you there Lobomon?' she thought. She was only greeted with silence. After a few moments of no results she was about to give up. She didn't realize it but Kouji had also closed his eyes and could feel some strange energy sitting in the palms of Kari's hands.

'What is that?' he asked his spirit partner.

'That's her power, you need to be able to harvest the power from her in order to spirit evolve.' Lobomon said. 'Don't be afraid to make bonds with these people Kouji. We are all fighting for the same purpose and we need their help as much as we need theirs.'

Kouji was still unsure about these Chosen Children, but if the others and Lobomon believed in them, he could too. He focused on the energy resting in Kari's hand and began to draw it out of her. As he did that, her crest began to glow answering his request with more power.

Kari felt a slight tugging sensation from deep within her soul. Confused, she opened her eyes and gasped. Both she and Kouji were glowing. By now they had attracted the attention of the other children that were training and they began gathering around them. Piximon quickly silenced the questions that started to arise.

"Quiet, don't interrupt them," Piximon shushed.

Slowly, she released Kouji's hand but even without the physical touch the tugging sensation remained. Along with the tugging a new feeling surfaced, she could feel a new power flowing into her and swirling around her body. Now she understood, this is what Gennai was trying to explain to them. There is a reservoir, and they were the pipeline between their partner's and the Legendary Warriors.

"Kari?" She looked down to her slightly confused partner to see that she was also glowing.

"Evolve now, both of you." Piximon instructed.

Gatomon and Kouji nodded, before both of them were consumed by the light that was surrounding them. When the light faded Angewomon was hovering slightly above the ground and the strange wolf creature stood in Kouji's place. It was still made of the same wavering energy as before but this time it seemed sturdier more solid. As if testing out his new body Kouji rolled his shoulders and shook his head before he tilted his head back in a howl.

"Alright we get it show off." Takuya punched his friend in the leg. A few congratulations were given to Angewomon and Kouji before Kari sunk to the ground panting. Noticing her tired state, both of them reverted to their previous forms. Gatomon hurried over to her partner to check on her.

"Are you alright?" she asked concerned.

"Just a little out of breath, how do you guys feel?" Kari asked looking between Gatomon and Kouji.

"I feel fine," Gatomon reassured her. Kouji just shrugged, but they could all see that he was breathing heavier than before.

"That is so awesome. But there is no way I'm gonna hold hands with you!" Takuya exclaimed pointing at Tai. The rest of the kids laughed at his child-like behavior.

"So how'd did you do that?" Tai asked his sister ignoring his friend.

"Well I just tried to feel for Lobomon then suddenly I felt like my soul was being pulled out and something else was put back in," Kari tried her best to explain what the strange sensation was.

"That was me. I was taking some of your power and replacing it with some of my own. When your partner joined in it created a loop, the power was constantly flowing between us," Koji told her.

"Why don't you guys give it a try?" Piximon asked Takuya and Tai.

"Sure, I bet I look way cooler than wolf-boy," Takuya bragged. It took much longer for them to forge their connection. No matter what he did Takuya just couldn't feel the power or anything Kouji had mentioned.

'That's because you're looking in the wrong place,' Agunimon coached him, 'You are looking in yourself for power but you need to rely on your friend. Extend your senses, feel for a similar power and bring it toward you.'

Takuya took his advice and when he searched around him he could scarcely feel a warm heat coming off of Tai. He began to pull that energy toward him, letting it fill him up.

"This isn't so tough," Takuya said, working on returning some power beginning the cycle. Now both of them had a red glow surrounding their bodies.

"Let's do it!" Agumon cheered jumping next to Takuya. Agumon was surrounded by the familiar light of digivolution while Takuya seemed to have caught on fire. The surprised audience jumped back avoiding the flames. When the light faded Agumon and successfully become MetalGreymon. With a thrash of his tail and a flap of giant wings Takuya's shadow form instantly put out the flames. Like Kouji, his figure seemed to have more density to it.

"That's awesome," Tai cheered. Takuya let out a loud roar and thumped his tail on the ground shaking the building.

"Whoa take it easy big guy," Davis joked.

"I can't wait till I can do that," Tommy said walking around Takuya admiring him.

Tai being more athletic than Kari was held up a little longer. But after a few minutes, he was exhausted and Agumon and Takuya had to de-digivolve.

After that pair of evolutions, the children immediately began talking amongst themselves, asking questions on how it felt like to use this new style of evolution. Piximon gave them a small break to get out their excitement and rest a little before ushering them back to training.

"Um, Piximon I have a question," Zoe timidly came up to him. It was a rather strange site to see, Zoe was normally really confident.

"Ask away," he encouraged her.

"Well, I didn't evolve like Kouji or Takuya did but I was able to grow Kazemon's wings and save my friends. I was wondering why I didn't change into something like they did?" Zoe asked

"That is because you managed that without the help of a crest," Gennai answered, he had left Izzy, JP, and Centarumon to witness the new evolutions up close. "With only your power the transformation isn't complete and it puts great stress on your body. I wouldn't suggest doing that again until you find out who your partner is."

"Okay, I just thought that maybe something was wrong with me," Zoe admitted.

"Well this kind of evolution was never recorded before so we don't really know what's right and what's wrong; we can only go by our guesses," Gennai started, "but if there is anything that feels odd let us know we don't want you guys to get hurt."

"Right, will do!" Zoe mock saluted before heading back to join the others.

* * *

A few hours later, JP and Izzy finally managed to work out most of the bugs in the program. "Now all we need to do is test it," Izzy said starting up the program. The lights in the room shut off leaving them in complete darkness.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Who turned out the lights?"

Multiple questions and concerns came from the confused children that were left in the dark. Shortly after the lights went out, about half way up the wall, a ring of strange runes began glowing. It didn't stay illuminated for long and it quickly faded and the lights came back on.

"Well it almost worked," Izzy said in disappointment.

"There isn't anything wrong with the program, we reviewed it multiple times," JP said looking at the computer over Izzy's shoulder.

"It started to work but fizzled out at the end. Maybe this building doesn't have enough power?" Centarumon suggested.

"Well if it's more electricity you need I'm you man," JP said standing up and heading over to the wall. He began to manoeuvre the steel panels that covered the walls until he managed to pry one off revealing the internal wiring. After unplugging some if the major cables he held and exposed ends of two cables in each hand. "Alright Izzy, fire it up again."

Izzy typed a command into the computer to retry the program. Again the lights dimmed and the runes began to glow. This time JP started releasing electricity some excess sparks shooting from his closed fists. Instead of dimming the runes began to glow three times as bright.

"It's working! Great job JP!" Izzy cheered. After letting the program run for a few minutes, to make sure that it was working properly, JP released the cables. As soon as he let them go, the runes dimmed again and the room's regular lights came back on.

"I'll talk to the others to see if we can get another generator," Centarumon said, "You two did a good job."

"Thanks," Izzy and JP replied simultaneously. Suddenly they Izzy's crest began glowing.

"Izzy look!" Tentomon said excitedly, pointing at his partner's glowing crest. The rest of them turned toward him and saw the purple glow of the crest of knowledge.

'I look forward to working with you.' Izzy jumped and looked around franticly.

"Did anyone else hear that voice?" he asked. Tentomon nodded and JP looked at him wide-eyed.

"You heard that? I guess that makes sense, I was wondering why Beetlemon would say something like that to me." JP smiled at him.

"Well I'm looking forward to fighting with you." Tentomon said, extending his 'hand' to shake. JP looked at him a little confused before he realized what he wanted and shook the bug digimon's hand. He then turned to Izzy and shook his hand, small electrical sparks flying from their connected hands.

"You better get going you need to get in some practice too. And make sure to talk to your friends to figure out the shadow form," Centarumon said as he started to walk away. "Don't worry about the electrical problem I'll talk to Andromon and hopefully we can get it fixed by tomorrow."

"Thanks Centarumon," Izzy waved. "Well we might as well get started were already behind."

"Don't remind me," JP groaned as he dragged himself toward the exercise equipment.

A few hours later Piximon declared that they had practiced enough for the day and earned a break. Most of the kids and some digimon were sprawled out across the floor.

"He pushed us way too hard!" Yolei complained.

"Well I guess he just wants us to be ready," Sora suggested to her younger friend.

"It wasn't that bad Yolei, I already feel stronger." Hawkmon flexed his wings showing off. The other digimon laughed and applauded. Away from the crowd Cody went to sit next to TK who was fanning himself with his hat, Patamon lying next to him.

"How are you feeling?" Cody asked.

"I haven't been this tired since that last basketball tournament," TK panted.

"That's not what I'm talking about." Cody looked away. TK followed his gaze to where Kouichi has handing a bottle of water to his brother. "I know how you feel about him and I just thought that you might need someone to talk to."

"Oh…" TK gave a deep sigh. "Well I talked to Kari and my brother last night, and they told me to give him a chance. What do you think?" Cody may have been younger than him, but his DNAdigivolution partner was much more mature and wise than many people much older than him.

"I think they're right. At the beginning, I didn't trust Ken when he first tried to join us, but I was wrong and all that did was disrupt our teamwork. And even if BlackWarGreymon was made of pure evil, he ended up being good in the end," Cody admitted, "you are right to be cautious but I think we should try to get along with him too."

TK listened intently to his friend's opinion. "You're right, I guess I've just been rather selfish."

"No, you're not. You're just concerned for the safety of your friends," Patamon reassured his partner.

"Thanks guys." TK was glad that his partner came over to talk to him. He was still feeling a bit nervous but he was now at ease. The two of them stood up and went over to the rest of their friends.

"How did training go?" Gennai asked as he approached them.

"Tired…" Tommy mumbled his face buried in a towel as he lay on the floor. The others laughed at him, even if they all felt the same.

"Why don't you guys take the rest of the day off and enjoy what's left of your weekend," Gennai suggested.

"Damn, we have school tomorrow," Davis wined.

"You would think that after the attack they would cancel school," JP said.

"I guess they can't really prove what happened, so they are just writing it off for now," Zoe suggested, "when they're more attacks, the schools will most likely close."

"I feel like it's a waste of time. We should be working on getting stronger," Matt said, the rest of the group agreed. Missing a few days of school was nothing compared to saving the world.

"We need the extra time anyway so we can figure out how to get a bigger generator to power this room," Gennai told them.

"We already spent most of the day here so we might as well go back home for now and rest," Tai suggested. The others agreed picking themselves up from the ground. After saying their goodbyes to Gennai and the other digimon living there they went back to their own world.

* * *

After they untangled themselves from the mess in front of Izzy's computer, they moved to the living room so everyone could have more space. Luckily for them Izzy's parents were out.

The children spread out across his living room others went to raid his kitchen. Most of them were holding small conversations amongst themselves. Kouichi noticed Ken sitting by himself; well not really, he had Minomon on his lap. It's been almost a day since he removed the dark spore and he decided to check up on him.

"Is your neck giving you any problems?" Kouichi asked him, sitting down next to him.

"No, it's been perfectly fine. Thanks so much." Ken stood up and bowed deeply toward the older boy. Kouichi was slightly flustered and a small blush covered his cheeks.

"That's good." Kouichi gave him a friendly smile. "If you ever need anyone to talk to you can always come to me, I think at a time we were in the same boat." Ken knew he was referring to his time as the Digimon Emperor. The older boy mentioned being used by the powers of darkness and being forced into fighting his friends before but he didn't go into detail. If anyone had the same regret as he did, it would be Kouichi.

"We just met and you're being so nice to me. Why?" Ken was glad that Kouichi was so willing to help him but he thought it was a bit odd.

"Well, let's just say we have a good feeling about you," Kouichi chuckled lightly before walking away to join his brother.

"We?" Ken wondered.

"Ken look," Minomon bounced excitedly on his lap. A faint pink glow was coming from his crest. Did that mean that Kouichi was his partner?

"But how did he know?" Ken asked holding the crest as the glow faded away. His only response was a shrug from Minomon.

They spent the next hour lounging around Izzy's house, when they were alerted to a loud beeping noise coming from Izzy's room. Izzy shot up from the chair he was sitting on and rushed to his room.

"What's wrong Izzy?" Tai asked following his friend into his room.

"We have a problem." Izzy spun his computer chair around revealing his screen. It showed a map of the city and two red blinking dots on the map. "Looks like the second invasion wave is here."

**A/N: Thanks a ton to PorcelainDollxx for picking up my story and being my beta :D. Hope you all enjoyed.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"They're attacking the city in two different areas!" Izzy informed the other chosen children in the living room. They all shared worried glances before Tai began to take charge.

"Let's split into two groups we can't let them get a foothold in our world," Tai instructed. "I'll take Matt, Izzy, Joe, TK, Davis, Takuya, JP, and Tommy. The rest of you head to this position and stop them." He pointed to the farther dot on the screen. "Make sure to keep in touch if anything happens. Good luck."

They all immediately jumped into action, racing out the door. As soon as the digimon made it outside they evolved to their champion levels and picked up their partners and the Legendary Warriors and raced off to combat the invading digimon.

**Tai's Group**

When they reached the invasion point, most of the area had already sustained massive amounts of damage. Buildings were crumbling and civilians were quickly fleeing the area. The chosen quickly dismounted their partners and the fighting began.

The streets were filled with Monocromon, Pteramon, Dokugumon, Reppamon, and Kuwagamon. The flying digimon were bombarding the buildings and anything that moved on the ground, while the others smashed whatever they came in contact with. The partner digimon that could fly immediately took to the skies and the others rushed into the fray. Greymon and Kabuterimon hung back sticking close to their partners.

Tai ran over to Izzy and JP to give them a crash course on how the new evolution works. "You sure it's that easy?" JP didn't sound very convinced as he listened to Tai's explanation.

"Just give it a shot we don't have time!" Tai yelled as he grasped his crest and it began to glow. Next to him, Takuya burst into flames and took on his shadow form. Greymon quickly followed digivolving into MetalGreymon. The two nodded at each other and with a great flap of wings lifted off into the skies.

The two of them flew circles around the Kuwagamon. The bug digimon tried to catch them between their massive pincers, but to no avail. Takuya and MetalGreymon weaved between them and blasted them when they got the chance. The burning Kuwagamon plummeted to the ground and burst into data.

Tai cheered before giving an encouraging nod to Izzy. "Here goes nothing." Izzy closed his eyes. He tried to feel the power within him and of those around him. What was he supposed to do once he found it? What if it didn't work?

'You think too much, child of knowledge.' Izzy recognized Beetlemon's deep voice. 'Just go with your instincts. JP and I will take care of the rest.' His voice slowly faded away. He listened to Beetlemon's instructions and stopped with his endless questions and just focused on feeling.

It was hard for him; he was always thinking, always calculating. But his friends needed his help and so did the whole world. He shut out the questions that were bouncing around his mind and focused on the power that was begging to be released.

JP could feel the power resonating from Izzy. That power slowly began to seep out of him and he quickly absorbed it. Using Izzy's additional power he began his evolution. It felt like a regular spirit evolution, the strength of his spirit filling him up. But now it was more than just Beetlemon, he could feel Izzy and Kabuterimon as if they were a part of him. The electronics in the buildings were already beeping and whistling from all the digimon activity, but now with the warrior of thunder evolving close by, they were going haywire. Screens were flashing and machines were emitting loud screeching beeps.

JP was consumed by a bright yellow orb. The orb slowly began expanding and taking shape. When the evolution was complete there was a creature that resembled a rhinoceros beetle the size of a bus standing in JP's place. His form was a golden yellow a few sparks flying off and crackling on the ground. A bright light from the sky told them that Kabuterimon had just digivolved. The children cheered as the newly evolved MegaKabuterimon knocked two Pteramon out of the sky with ease.

"That's two ultimate digimon for us and two shadows, this should go by quickly." Matt was feeling cocky; there was no way they could lose this now.

"Don't be hasty; I'm still new to this." Izzy was nervous; he could feel the power of his partner and the Legendary Warrior of thunder flowing through his body. It was a strange feeling; it was like having another presence inside of him. Was this what the Legendary Warriors felt all the time being bound to their spirits?

"Don't worry. Remember what Beetlemon said? Don't think too much, just go with your gut feeling," JP's voice was muffled; it sounded like he was talking through a broken microphone. He turned away from the group and charged forward crushing an unsuspecting Monocormon into the nearby building. With one of their comrades down, the other Monocromon turned toward JP and began charging.

JP stood his ground locking horns with one of the Monocromon. With a sharp twist of his head he easily lifted the dinosaur digimon and tossed him into the other Monocromon. Realizing they couldn't compete with the warrior of thunder, in terms of strength, they lined up and began to fire massive fire balls at him. The protective shell on JP's shadow form lifted up revealing insect wings. JP quickly lifted off the ground to escape the barrage of 'Volcanic Strike' attacks.

JP was assessing the situation from the air when MegaKabuterimon approached him. "Need some help?"

"Sure, let's take out these guys first." JP focused his gaze on the Monocromon. A ball of electricity began forming in the space between JP's beating wings. Once the ball reached its maximum size it condensed and entered his horn which began to glow. He then dropped his head down pointing his horn toward the digimon on the ground. JP and MegaKabuterimon simultaneously released their attacks on the dinosaurs inhalation them. All that remained were scorch marks on the concrete.

Matt was correct, the opposing digimon army was dropping like flies. Their partners worked together flawlessly easily reducing the enemy numbers.

A group of three Dokugumon snuck around the fighting and attempted to launch a surprise attack and surrounded the children. One of them lunged forward trying to catch one of the children in its jaws. The spider digimon was immediately stopped when Angemonswooped down and struck him in the head with his staff. The other two Dokugumon surged forward using their allies' dilemma as a distraction. The other partner digimon were too distracted with fighting or too far away to help.

The children screamed in terror as the spiders closed in. Before any of them were caught the Dogkugumon smashed into a wall of ice mere feet away from the group. Tommy was standing toward the back of the group with both hands pressed to the ground, a small area around his hands were frozen solid.

"Nice save Tommy!" Davis laughed as the Dokugumon crumpled to the ground. It didn't stop them forever though. They shook their heads and slowly stood back up; they simultaneously bashed the wall shattering the ice barrier. The children covered their faces to protect themselves from the ice shards that were raining down on them.

"I take it back that was terrible!" Davis wiped bits of ice from his clothes and winced from the small scratch on his face.

"Shut up," Tommy growled, that didn't go as well as he hoped. Hoping to redeem himself, he stepped protectively in front of his friends.

"Are you crazy? Get out of there!" TK yelled, as Tommy remained firmly rooted as the spiders continued their charge. The others shouted words of warning, but Tommy ignored all of them and braced himself for the assault.

He was ready as the first Dokugumon swiped at him with a spindly leg. He quickly rolled underneath the spider, lying on his back, he thrust his palms upward. A pillar of ice erupted from the ground and impaled the digimon. It gave a gut-wrenching screech before it burst into bits of data. The ice pillar slowly receded and Tommy stood up with a triumphant smile on his face.

"Look out!" He had forgotten about the second Dokugumon!

Tommy didn't have time to react before he was struck. He screamed in pain as it sunk it's fangs into his arm and tossed him to the side. He flew across the street and crashed into the sidewalk before skidding to a stop. He rolled into a ball cradling his bleeding arm against his chest. The pain was tremendous, his eyes were clamped shut and he could feel them beginning to water, but he refused to cry. He hated being known as the crybaby, he was older now, stronger.

He could hear frantic footsteps approaching him. At first he tensed expecting the Dokugumon, instead he felt a comforting hand on his should and the other children's voice surrounding him. He forced himself to open his eyes and looked past the legs and crouching figures surrounding him to see that ExVeemon and Garurumon had finished with their previous fight with a group of Reppamon and was finishing of the last Dokugumon.

The pain was worth it, he bought enough time for the partner digimon to get there and save his friends.

"Let me see it your arm," Joe kneeled down next to him already opening the first aid kit he carried around. Tommy gently released his arm; the blood had seeped through his fingers beginning to stain his clothes and the ground around him. The other children grimaced at the gruesome scene; his arm had multiple deep puncture wounds that were still seeping blood.

Joe immediately began trying to stop the bleeding. Tommy winced as the cotton was placed on his arm. "Sorry, but pressure needs to be applied in order to slow the bleeding," Joe said, using both hands to press on the wound. Tommy nodded, and he couldn't stop the hiss of pain that escaped his lips.

"Is he going to be okay?" TK asked.

Joe nodded, "The bones not broken or anything, he'll be fine." He removed the blood soaked gauze from Tommy's arm and replaced it with a clean one and began to wrap it. "This will have to do for now until we can take you to see a doctor."

"Thanks Joe." Tommy smiled at him. They didn't have time to rest; the enemy's reinforcements have begun to arrive. About ten to fifteen more digimon of the same species as the ones before arrived on the scene accompanied by a much larger digimon behind them. The enormous digimon had blue smooth skin, red leathery wings, and limbs made of multiple tentacles that were bound together. The monster roared throwing back it's octopus like head revealing rows of sharp teeth.

All the digimon stopped their fighting to look at the new comers. The enemy digimon smirked while the partners look a few nervous steps backward. "It's Dragomon," Angemon murmured.

"That's the one Kari and I saw in the Dark Ocean." TK began trembling. Shaking off their fear the partner digimon took up defensive positions around the children. They were tired out but they could still fight. Takuya and JP where in the front lines, Takuya was still in the air while JP landed and too his position on the ground. Tai and Izzy were panting heavily, sweat streaming down their face.

"We need to finish this fast. I don't think I can last much longer." Tai panted wiping the sweat from his brow. Takuya and JP were also showing signs of fatigue. Their moves were much sloppier and their forms began wavering.

Tommy slowly got to his feet and took a few steps toward the battle field. Joe knew exactly what Tommy was planning and quickly stood in front of him blocking his path.

"No you need to rest your arm is in pretty bad shape," Joe said sternly.

Tommy was not about to give up. "Our friends are out there, I can't just stand by and do nothing!" Their partners made quick work of the remaining enemy digimon until only Dragomon was left. Unfortunately the ultimate digimon was easily beating back the team. He easily knocked away the champion digimon with his massive tentacles and he successfully blocked any long range attack they tried. Exhausted after fighting off the army they were barley scratching the master of the Dark Ocean.

Dragomon evaded a flaming claw from Takuya and smashed him into the nearby building. He plummeted toward the ground. A small crater in the pavement formed where he landed. He slowly pushed himself to his knees and struggled to get up. All the children quickly turned to Tai when he let out cry of pain and collapsed to his knees. Small scratches and burses began forming on his body.

"What's going on?!" Matt assessed his friend's battered body. He crouched next to Tai, unsure of how to help his friend. He looked like he was in a lot of pain and he didn't want to touch him.

Izzy's eyes widened when he reached a dark conclusion. "We're connected to them! We must be taking on some of the damage that they take." The other children gave startled gasps and shared nervous glances.

"We don't have time to worry about this now," Tai panted, he slowly made his way back to his feet with the help of Matt.

"Get out of my way Joe!" Tommy tried to shove the older boy out of his way with his good arm. Joe did his best to restrain him without jostling his injury.

"No you can't fight in your condition!"

"I can't just let my friends get hurt while I just sit here and watch!"

"They're my friends too but running out there and getting hurt isn't going to help them!" The rest of the children were ignoring of the two fighting boys. Their eyes were fixed Dragomon as he decimated their partners. Dragomon summoned a deadly looking trident and was parrying any attack sent his way. He waited patiently for them to make a mistake or falter in their attacks, and when they did he struck back hard. Exveemon, Garurumon, and Angemon had already de-digivolved and lay in crumpled heaps. With worried cries Matt, Davis, and TK ran to collect their injured partners.

Hearing his friends worried shouts Joe looked up and took in the destruction the army had caused. "Please Joe," Tommy's voice came out barley a whisper. Joe looked down at the warrior of ice whose eyes were locked on the others holding their injured partners.

They were startled by a roar of pain as Ikkakumon crashed into the ground next to them. Joe immediately let go of Tommy and ran to his partner. He had a deep gash running along his body from where Dragomon caught him with his trident. "I'm fine Joe, don't worry about me," Ikkakumon said as he struggled to stand.

"No you'll be destroyed," Joe was conflicted. He knew they needed to save the world but he feared for the life of his partner and for his friends. "All this fighting is horrible." He buried his face into this partner's dirtied fur, seeking comfort.

"And we're the only ones who can stop this, it's our responsibility to protect the worlds," Tommy came up behind him, gently stroking Ikkakumon's fur.

"I know that I can't stop you from fighting, but promise me that you will be careful." Joe knew he couldn't stop him but he could still worry.

'Only if you help us,' a childlike voice echoed through the minds of Joe and Ikkakumon.

"What?" Joe gave a confused gasp as his partner and crest began to glow.

'Don't be afraid it's only me,' Joe had no idea who was talking to them but they didn't sound threatening.

"Who's me?" He asked still looking aground.

"That would be Kumamon."

'You have a very good heart Joe, you are always thinking about others. But war is difficult; we are forced to hurt others to protect who and what we love. But you're not in this alone let us help you.'

Shortly after the crest came to life, Tommy started to emit a light green aura. The two of them recognized what was happening and simply nodded at each other before. Tommy turned around and ran toward the fight Ikkakumon hot on his heels.

Both of them were wrapped in a light green light. The digimon ceased their fighting and looked at the incoming light. Dragomon blinded from the bright light gave a roar of pain and stumbled backwards raising his arms to shield his eyes. When it faded Dragomon was tacked to the ground by a large bear that looked like it was made of compact snow. The impact caused him to drop his trident which skid across the ground out of his reach. Tommy caught one of Dragomon's arms in his jaws and bit down as hard as he could. Dragomon desperately swiped at Tommy with his tentacles. To avoid any more injuries, the bear leaped away. With the giant bear gone Dragomon clambered to his feet only to be stuck with a 'Voltage Hammer' from Zudomon.

When Tommy landed, he stumbled and almost collapsed. The adrenalin numbed most of the pain, but the landing had jarred his arm causing occasional spikes of pain to shoot up his arm.

Back with the other chosen Joe could feel a tingling sensation in his arm. He lifted it to examine what was causing the strange feeling. He and the others gasped when he watched red blemishes began to cover his arm. Looking over at Tai and Izzy, he could see they both were covered in small scratches and bruises. They needed to end this fight before his friends got seriously hurt.

They were down three champions and the rest of the team was exhausted or injured. Dragomon may have sustained some damage from their last exchange but he was nowhere near defeated. Things were looking dim. They could only hope that their friends were successful in securing the other part of town. TK took out his D-terminal and sent out a frantic message to the others,

'Dragomon is here. Can't hold out much longer.'

**A/N: Shorter than normal but I wanted to split the fight scene into two different chapters. Enjoy :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Half way to their destination the group spilt up, Tai's group going one way and Sora's group went another. Sora's group consisted of Kari, Ken, Yolei, Cody, Mimi, Zoe, Kouji, and Kouichi. The group that they were going to be fighting against was in the other side of town. Fortunately, most of them had partners that could fly so they reached their destination relatively quickly.

That part of town had already sustained some damage, but there was something off with this group of invaders. They weren't organized like the last group they fought against was. There were Cerberumon that wondered around sniffing at some of the buildings, Snimon taking naps in trees, and Unimon lazily floating in the skies. Out of the group the only ones that seemed to be causing a lot of destruction were the Golemon, and the Diatrymon which were strange bird-like digimon that couldn't fly but had powerful legs and talons, who were knocking down trees and taking large chunks out of walls.

As they touched down in front of the group, curious heads turned toward them. At once all the enemy digimon jumped to their feet and snarled at them.

"Um, maybe we should have just left them alone." Yolei took a few cautious steps backward.

"We can't just leave them here we would have needed to get rid of them no matter what." Aquilamon unfolded his wing and placed it behind his partner to stop her slow retreat.

The partner digimon and the invading army both stared unblinkingly at each other, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Breaking ranks, one of the Ceberumon charged at them; puffs of emerald fire streaming from its open jaws. It didn't pose much of a threat as Kouji easily knocked it away with a beam of light.

That signaled the start of the battle. The two opposing forces raced forward and clashed in the middle. There was slashing of claws and talons that accompanied explosions of well-aimed attacks.

"Let's finish this quickly," Kouji said glancing at Kari who gave him a curt nod. Both he and Gatomon were consumed by a flash of light. The light quickly faded Kouji in his shadow form quickly rushed off into the fight. Angewomon hovered behind him rapidly shot arrows of light at the invading digimon.

Stingmon, Birdramon and Aquilamon were taking on a group of Unimon and Snimon. They manoeuvred between the deadly sickles and attacks that were launched at them. Unfortunately, the misfired attacks flew past them and headed straight for the group of chosen.

The two quickly abandoned their fight to try and save their partners. The attack was moving much too quickly and they knew that they wouldn't make it in time to stop the attack. In desperation they shouted warning to the group in hopes that they could get out of the way in time.

The children's eyes widened as they noticed the attacks quickly approaching them. They were saved when a wall of protective black energy formed around them. The attacks collided with the wall making it shudder but it held firm. Blades of wind flew pass the partner digimon and slashed the two Snimon that were trying to follow them unnoticed.

"Don't worry about these guys, we'll protect them," Zoe shouted, waving at Stingmon, Birdramon and Aquilamon. They thanked her and flew back toward the fighting.

"Thanks you two, I was a little scared there for a moment," Mimi said.

"This is the least I could do," Zoe reassured her friend, while Kouichi just gave them a small smile.

The battle was stretching on and on. The enemy was wild and uncoordinated but the partner digimon were getting beaten back due to the sheer number of the enemy force.

Ken bit his lip nervously as he watched Stingmon dodge an attack from a Unimon only to get stuck by one of Snimon's sickles. Kouichi noticed the younger boy's nervousness and slowly approached him.

"I know we haven't attempted the new evolution yet but would you like to try it?" he asked.

"Yes, we need all the help we can get." They needed to get this right but both of them had no experience with this new evolution. Ken closed both his hands around his crest and began to feel a warm tingling sensation spread through his body. Stingmon was slowly beginning to glow, that was a good sign. He could then feel some of that energy leaving his body; he assumed that the energy was being taken in by Kouichi.

Now there was a new felling, there was a different source of energy that was slowly flowing into him. It felt vaguely familiar. Then he hit him, he knew this aura, this was the same feeling that he felt when he visited the dark ocean. It was the power of darkness. Memories began to flash before his eyes, his time as the Digimon Emperor, the tortured digimon, his brother's death, and Wormmon's deletion.

Ken screamed, clutching his head as he sunk to the ground. Immediately the energy flow stopped, the power that was filling him up retreated.

"Ken, are you okay?" Yolei kneeled down next to him putting a comforting hand on his back. Worried, the other children surrounded him.

"The darkness-" Ken shivered, keeping his eyes clamped shut. Yolei pulled him into a warm hug in an attempt to stop his shaking.

"I'm sorry." Everyone turned to Kouichi who had a sullen expression on his face. "If I knew he would have reacted like that I wouldn't have suggested anything." He noticed that the Chosen Children were giving him the same worried looks as the first time he introduced himself as the warrior of darkness.

"Kouji!"

They were interrupted with Kari's worried shout. Kouji was cornered by two Golemon and a small group of Ceburumon. He snared ferociously at them, but the digimon didn't falter.

"Please I know you're afraid but I need to help my brother," Kouichi pleaded. He normally wouldn't put so much pressure on someone but he was desperate. "I won't let anything bad happen to you, I promise."

Ken was still shaken from his brush with Kouichi's power. But when he opened his eyes he saw the worry and fear in the older twin's face. He gave a smile to Yolei and thanked her, slowly removing her arms from around his shoulders. "My fear of the powers of darkness is just something I will need to get over if you're going to be my partner. Let's try again; I'll be ready for it this time." He felt for the power the resided in him and began to bring it to the surface.

"Thank you." Kouichi became shrouded in a haze of dark purple mist. Ken felt the power seeping out of him just like how it did earlier. But unlike the first time, there was no darkness creeping into him. Confused he looked up to Stingmon and saw that his partner lacked the glow he had before.

Kouichi was now covered in a dark cloud. Slowly it began to take shape and solidify. The dark energy took the form of a black lion with purple undertones. Kouichi's form look like it was made of plasma, always slightly shifting and not completely solid.

Without hesitation he bolted toward his brother. Kouji was currently wrestling with three of the Ceberumon the rest of them circled him. Kouichi jumped onto the back of an unexpected Golemon and sunk his fangs into its shoulder. The Golemon roared in pain and flailed its arms in an attempt to dislodge the lion. Hearing the ruckus Golemon was making, the rest of the digimon turned around to focus their attention on Kouichi rather than Kouji.

Kouichi let go of Golemon and pounced on an approaching Ceberumon quickly destroying it. Kouji used his brother's distraction to finish off the watchdog digmon and took his place next to his brother. The enemy digimon and the twins exchanged growls before they lunged at each other. The two of them worked together flawlessly. Within minutes the group that was first surrounding Kouji was destroyed.

"Wow that was amazing," Mimi said astonished.

"When light and darkness come together a strong force is released," Zoe told them smiling at her two friends as the rushed off to help Togemon and Ankylomon.

"Stingmon had this aura before but now it's gone. And why he didn't he digivolve to ultimate like Gatomon did?" Ken asked.

"Kouichi'sform isn't as solid as the others do either," Cody added, "Did anything different happen when Kouichi evolved?"

"Well the first time I could feel the power of darkness enter my body," Ken faltered, "but the second time I didn't feel anything."

"Kouichi must have felt really bad, looks like he withheld his power," Zoe said, "That makes the cycle incomplete, he's taking energy from Ken and Stingmon without returning it."

"What does that mean?" Mimi asked.

"Once they run out of power Kouichi won't be able to hold his shadow form."

"That seems a bit selfish, he's only stealing their power," Yolei glowered at the warrior of darkness.

"No it's not like that, but that was his only option. Kouichi saw how Ken reacted and didn't want to put him in that position but at the same time he needed to help Kouji." Sora shook her head, trying to explain Kouichi's dilemma to the others. Yolei and Cody still didn't look convinced.

Back in the fight, the twins were tearing through their opponents. Whenever one of them would be in a bind, the other was there to back them up. The invading digimon that were on the ground were rapidly depleting but the fight in the air wasn't going so well. With all the power going to Kouichi, Stingmon was running out of steam.

Too exhausted to dodge, Stingmon was hit by one of Snimon's 'Twin Sickles' attack and plummeted to the ground. He slammed into the ground creating a decent sized crater before de-digivolving. Ken rushed to his side and cradled his injured partner in his arms.

"Are you okay?" Ken asked.

"I'm sorry Ken," Wormmon was covered in multiple cuts and scratches. He winced in pain and snuggled into his partner's arms.

"Is Wormmon going to be okay?" Mimi and the others came up behind him to check on them.

"He'll be okay but with him out of commission that means-" Ken was cut off by a pained roar. The other spun around to see Kouichi get caught by one of Diatrymon's claws. With Stingmon down, Kouichi had no strength to keep up his shadow form. He lay vulnerable at the feet of the bird digimon. Seeing his brother in distress Kouji immediately jumped into action. He knocked Diatrymon away from his brother only to get hit by multiple attacks from the Snimon that were free to roam because Wormmon was now incapacitated.

Kari was already exhausted; their battle was already reaching the 20 minute mark. This was the longest that Kouji ever sustained his shadow form. She was pushed past her breaking point when the felt a jolt of pain shoot through her body when Kouji was hit by Snimon's attack. She teetered on her feet a little before she began to fall backwards. Sora was there to catch her before she hit the ground.

Now that Kari was out of the picture Kouji and Gatomon immediately de-digivolved, Birdramon snatched Gatomon in her talons before the cat digimon plummeted to the earth from her sudden loss of wings.

"Kari, are you alright?" Sora asked, concerned.

"I'm sorry but I couldn't keep that up." She was mentally and physically exhausted, but she wasn't in immediate danger. Kouji and Kouichi were facing off against three of the Diatrymon; with the loss of their shadow forms they didn't stand a chance.

"Kouji! Kouichi!" Worried, Zoe started running franticly toward her friends.

"No! Stay there we're fine," Kouichi shouted at her before diving out of the way as one of Diatrymon's claws came down where he was standing. Mimi and Cody yelled for their partners to help the twins. But Togemon and Ankylomon were a bit tied up with the last group of Ceberumon and Golemon. The partners that could fly were now outnumbered now that Stingmon and Angewomon were out.

Kouji focused his energy on creating two solid beams of light that closely resembled the swords that Lobomon welds. Once his weapons were fully formed, he ran at one of the Diatrymon dodging the digimon's beak and talons that came his way. When he was directly beneath the bird digimon he simultaneously slashed at both of its ankles.

With a surprised squawk the Diatrymon crumpled to the ground. It writhed in pain as its wounded legs refused to hold its weight. The two remaining Diatrymon turned away from Kouichi to extract revenge on the twin that injured their comrade, only to run face first into a wall of black energy. With Kouichi effectively distracting the others, Kouji walked around to the head of the digimon. Twirling one of his swords he stabbed it between the eyes, and in a burst of data there were only two Diatrymon left.

Noticing the trouble on the ground, some of the Unimon broke away from the dogfight in the skies and headed toward the twins. They could hold their own on the ground but flying digimon where a whole other story.

"Stupid boys," tears began streaming down Zoe's cheeks, "I want to help them but I don't have a shadow form or anything like that. They're always looking after me, why can't it be the other way around for once?"

Sora left Kari with Yolei and walked over to comfort her friend, "They didn't want you to fight because they don't want you to get hurt."

"I can fight! I'm a Legendary Warrior too!" Zoe shouted angrily. Sora felt bad for her friend and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Before they would always look out for me and Tommy, not just Kouji and Kouichi but Takuya and JP too. But now that Tommy's older he's starting to act the same way; protective."

"You're the only girl in your group Zoe; of course they would want to protect you."

"Do they think that being a girl makes me weaker? Well it doesn't."

"No it's not like that at all," Sora wrapped her arms around her trying to comfort the upset girl. "They care about you, so they don't want to see you get hurt." Wiping away her tears Zoe returned the hug burying her face into her friends shoulder.

"I know. I just want to be able to protect them too," Zoe mumbled. A warm felling started to spread through both their bodies. When they broke away both of them were surrounded by a pink light and Sora's crest was glowing. Looking up into the sky, Birdramon was incased in a similar light.

'Thank you for looking out for Zoe," even if Sora couldn't see the entity that was talking to her, she could feel her presence.

"No problem, Zoe is my friend of course I'll be there for her," Sora said, smiling at her. Zoe returned her smile before she began stepping way. Once they were a few feet apart strong gusts of wind began wiping around the group. It swirled around them before wrapping around Zoe and began lifting her off the ground.

Both Zoe and Birdramon were drowning in bright flashes of light. When Garudamon immerged, she slashed her giant talons taking out multiple Unimon, and in a flash of fire more Snimon were destroyed. The light faded more gradually from Zoe, and in her place a giant hawk hovered in the air. It was made of a pink glowing energy; the very wind itself seemed to swirl around within her body.

Without hesitation she dove, snatching up one of the Diatrymon that were closing in on the twins. Once she gained enough altitude she dropped her captive. Diatrymon may have had wings but its immense weight and weak wings rendered it flightless. As the digimon fell to the ground, Zoe dove after it. Extending her wings, the wind gathered around it creating a sheath that was as sharp as a blade. She streaked past the falling digimon and sliced it in half.

She looked down and saw that Togemon and Ankylomon had finished their fight and were working on removing the final Diatrymon. A safe distance away, she saw Kouichi helping Kouji to his feet. Now that she knew her friends were safe she turned her attention to the flying digimon.

Aquilamon and the newly digivolved Garudamon had their hands full, while the digimon on the ground were defeated there was quite a bit of flying digimon left. Zoe quickly accelerated and joined the others. There were still about 25 of the enemy digimon left.

Their plan was simple, let Garudamon light them up while Zoe and Aquilamon take out any stragglers. Garudamon destroyed multiple digimon by sending out bursts of fire. Some of the more nimble digimon evaded her attack but were vulnerable to Aquilamon's horns and Zoe's talons.

The battle in the sky ended fairly quickly; when the last Unimon was destroyed the children erupted into cheering. The children rushed to hug their partners that returned victorious from battle.

During the cheering Cody was looking around confused. That can't have been it could it? That was way too easy. "Hey guys, was it just me or did this group not have a leader?"

Astonished some of the other children looked around franticly expecting another digimon to pop out at them at any moment. But nothing happened, the streets stayed deserted.

"Your right there was no one leading this group they were just left here to wonder, but why?" Kouichi asked. It didn't make any sense. These invasion armies were supposed to be elite forces that were meant to gain a foothold in the real world for the rest of the army to follow. Why would Daemon and Lucemon waste troops like this?

"Maybe the leader just got lazy and is taking a nap somewhere," Yolei joked.

"Or it was a distraction, and the real danger is with the other group. The reason they attacked two different points was to split us up." The others gasped at Ken's suggestion.

"Then we better get a move on and check on the others," Sora said as she began climbing onto Garudamon. The others followed her lead clambering onto Aquilamon and Zoe. After everyone was settled the three bird digimon took off into the air and headed toward the other side of town.

About half way there the D-Terminals started ringing alerting them of a message. Kari reached into her pocket and read TK's SOS out loud to the others. "Looks like you were right Ken the others need our help. Can you guys fly any faster?"

"We can try," Zoe said. With a flap of her wings she shot forward almost knocking the twins off of her back. Aquilamon and Garudamon followed her lead flapping their wings harder picking up speed.

**A/N: Hope to you all enjoyed this chapter as much as i enjoyed writing it :) Next chapter may be a little late due to our busy schedules, but only by a day or two, so no worries :P**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The children were still locked in battle with Dragomon. Gabumon, Patamon and Veemon lay battered in their partner's arms on the sidelines while the others still bravely fought against the master of the Dark Ocean. Tai, Izzy, and Joe had sweat running down their faces, and small scratches covering their bodies. The Legendary Warriors, MetalGreymon, MegaKabuterimon, and Zudomon were panting heavily sporting many burses and cuts. While the chosen were running on empty, Dragomon still stood tall holding his trident defensively only breathing slightly heavier than usual.

"Did the others respond yet?" Tai asked, turning around to look at his fallen team.

"Yes, they cleared out the other area that was being attacked and they are heading over hear now," TK informed them.

"Just hang on a little longer guys the others are on the way." Joe tried to keep their spirits up, cheering for them even if the battle was very one-sided.

Dragomon sneered at them, with help on the way he intended to finish the battle now. He charged at them swiping at them with his trident. All the digimon that could fly lifted off into the sky to avoid his attack. Zudomon met him head on blocking Dragomon's trident with his hammer.

Now that the enemy was preoccupied Tommy leapt toward him attempting to sink his fangs into Dragomon's neck. Expecting a sneak attack like that Dragomon turned slightly catching Tommy in mid jump. He smirked and began to wrap his tentacles firmly around the bear's neck chocking him.

Zudomon was gripping his hammer with both hands, putting all his strength into trying to overpower Dragomon, but he was easily holding him off with one hand and crushing Tommy's windpipe with the other. With both his arms occupied the aerial digimon launched powerful attacks at Dragomon.

Dragomon saw the incoming attacks and let out a deep rumbling chuckle as he stepped backwards. With the opposing force gone, Zudomon's momentum caused him to stumble forward. Now that his opponent was off balanced Dragomon swung his arm that was holding Tommy and released him throwing him into Zudomon. The two crashed into each other creating a very effective wall to protect Dragomon from the coming assault.

The attacks collided with Tommy and Zudomon creating an explosion accompanied with a large cloud of smoke. Screams of pain echoed across the battlefield accompanied by Dragomon's malicious laughter. With a surprised gasp Joe fell to his knees wrapping his arms around his shoulders, slightly trembling from the pain.

"Are you alright Joe?" Matt asked worriedly.

"I'm fine don't worry about me. How are Zudomon and Tommy?" Everyone's eyes turned toward the fight where the smoke was beginning to clear. Both Zudomon and Tommy lay in crumpled heaps on the ground.

They didn't de-digivolve so that was a good sign, but other than that they looked horrible. Zudomon struggled to stand his legs shaking. Tommy was holding his injured arm off the ground afraid to put any pressure on it. His form that was once as solid as compact snow was now beginning to waver. The other digimon landed behind them concerned.

"Sorry guys, you okay?" MetalGreymon stood next to Zudomon looking over his friend's injuries. Zudomon nodded, too tired to form words.

"Just hold on a little longer, the others should be here soon," JP looked worriedly at Tommy, "Maybe you should sit this one out."

"No way!" Tommy stubbornly stomped his injured arm on the ground. He winced slightly when a shooting pain raced up his arm.

"Just be careful then," JP gave in.

Dragomon watched them, amused by their efforts. He raised his trident getting ready to strike again. Getting ready for his attack the others gathered around their injured friends ready to defend them. Before Dragomon could strike he was hit by an attack that slammed into his back making him stumble. Growling angrily he turned around to see the rest of the chosen arrive.

Aquilamon, Garudamon, and Zoe landed and let the rest of the chosen hop off their backs before rushing off into the battle.

"Just in time," Sora smiled.

"This guy's tough, don't let your guard down," Matt warned them. This time Zudomon and Tommy kept their distance as the other digimon bombarded Dragomon with long range attacks.

"So which of you is Tommy's partner?" Kouji asked, noticing the large bear that was slowly walking around the battle looking for a safe opening to strike.

"I am." Joe raised a shaky hand, getting a curt nod from Kouji.

"So all of us found our first partners that a good start," Kouchi said.

"Who's your partner?" Matt asked looking at Kouichi. He figured Zoe was partnered with Sora since Birdramon was able to digivolve.

"Ken is."

"What?! You found your partner before me that's not fair." Davis looked over at his friend who just shrugged and gave him a small smile.

When the others looked back to the battle Davis leaned over to Ken and whispered, "Will you be okay working with him, cuz you know?" He knew of his friend's sensitivity to Kouichi's element.

"I think we were wrong before, assuming that all darkness was evil. He's very kind, nothing like the evil digimon that we fought against. I still get that chill whenever there is a large amount of darkness around but, that's just something I'm going to need to grow out of," Ken said.

Davis smiled, "And we'll be here for you too, right buddy?" he asked looking at Veemon.

"That's right!"

"Me too," Wormmon said as he buried his face into Ken's shoulder. Ken wrapped his arms more tightly around his partner and thanked his friends giving them a warm smile. Loud roars and clashing off attacks brought their attention back to the fight at hand.

The battle with Dragomon was turning around. With so many attacks coming at him at once he couldn't block them all. Now that his back was exposed Tommy extracted his revenge by slashing Dragomon down his back with his massive claws. Unlike the first attempt, the hit was a success. With a roar Dragomon swung around and attempted to impale Tommy with his trident. Tommy threw himself to the side to avoid getting hit, causing the trident to slam into the ground cracking the pavement barely missing him.

The other used this opportunity to launch all their attacks at the enemy. This time the results were much better. There was no shield for Dragomon to hide behind this time resulting in him getting hit directly from all their attacks. Their combined attacks caused a large explosion that shook the ground.

"We got him that time for sure." Confident, Takuya landed in front of the large cloud of smoke that covered the area their enemy once stood. As the smoke began to dissipate, Dragomon's trident flew out of the center of the cloud. Takuya was caught by surprise and barely had any time to dodge. The trident struck him in his side knocking him to the ground; the wound was bad but not fatal.

Takuya landed on the ground with a painful thud. He struggled to sit up and de-digivolved in the process. When the flames around his body died Takuya was resting on one knee holding is slightly bleeding side. MetalGreymon could feel Agunimon's power slowly fading away. He flew down next to Takuya and de-digivolved.

"Are you hurt Takuya?" Agumon asked.

"It's just a small scratch don't worry," Takuya smiled at him and gave him the thumbs up. They all knew it was more that a scratch but they didn't have time to treat him now.

The smoke finally cleared revealing a severely wounded Dragomon. He was panting heavily and covered in deep scratches and burns. The evil digimon glowered at them, his eyes scanning the chosen taking in the number of opponents he had yet to defeat. He growled in frustration, he may have taken out quite a few of them but they were wearing him down.

The first time since the beginning of the battle Dragomon spoke, "Since you can have reinforcements so can I," he roared loudly raising his arm above his head. The trident that was still lying on the ground next to Agumon vanished and reappeared in his hand. The trident began to glow with an ominous grey energy that slowly spread to engulf his entire body.

He slammed the handle of his trident into the ground causing the grey energy to spread into the ground. It started to form multiple dark circles on the ground surrounding him.

"What's he doing?" MegaKaubterimon asked. He and the others watched from the sky as the number of dark circles began to increase and they slowly began to change to different shades of grey.

Looking into the center of one of the circles Ken recognized the images that were slowly becoming clearer, and he came to an eerie conclusion, "Those are portals to the Dark Ocean," he said quietly. A cold chill swept across the group.

Ken and Kari were affected the most by the portals sudden appearance. They started shivering; it felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice water on them. Kari wrapped her arms around herself biting her bottom lip. Gatomon put a paw on her leg signaling to her partner that she was there and TK wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders.

Ken was clutching Wormmon tightly to his chest making his partner wince slightly. He released his hold slightly and apologized to the worm digimon. He jumped slightly when someone put their hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Kouichi looking at him worriedly.

Kouichi could feel the dark energy radiating from Dragomon and from the open portals. He could understand where the chosen children were coming from now, if this is what they had to put up with no wonder they didn't like the anything related to darkness. It was different from him and his friends, since their enemy, Lucemon, was actually digimon of light.

Rather than being nervous about Kouichi's presence like before, Ken found comfort in the older boy being there.

"Thank you," Ken said his shaking coming to a stop.

Kouichi looked at him a little confused. "I didn't do anything, but you're welcome."

Now that Ken was alright Kouichi looked over to Kari to see how she was doing. He chuckled slightly seeing his brother awkwardly trying to make her feel better. Kouji ruffled her hair like a father would a son, rather than how most people would react to a frightened girl. Both TK and Gatomon covered their mouths trying not to laugh.

Ken and Kari seemed to be calmer now even with the impending darkness approaching. But they weren't out of danger yet.

One by one hundreds of Divermon began to crawl out of the many portals Dragomon opened. The partner digimon began backing away as the area was filled with Divermon.

"I think we need to make a tactical retreat," Izzy suggested.

"You mean run away?!" Davis shouted. He was not one to just give up and leave, and judging by the faces of some of the others they felt the same way.

"Yes, if we try to fight against those numbers it would be suicide," Izzy shook his head, "and I don't know how much longer Joe and I can keep fighting." Izzy was beginning to struggle in keeping up with the energy needs of his partner and JP, and with Zudomon and Tommy taking so many hits Joe was already feeling the strain.

"Izzy's right we need to get out of here while we can." Takuya joined the group, his arm slug around Kouichi's shoulders for support and Agumon walking beside them.

"But we can't just leave; the army will spread from here and take over our world. We're the only ones that can stop them." Davis was determined as always, he was showing why he was chosen to wield the digi-egg of courage. Takuya smiled at him, Davis reminded him of exactly how he used to be.

"We can't help anyone if we're dead," Kouji cut in.

"I know how you feel Davis, but we will have a better chance of succeeding in the long run if we run away now," Ken placed his hand Davis's shoulder, "our partners can't fight anymore we would just be putting them more at risk."

Davis looked down at Veemon. His partner was tired but he met his gaze with fierce determination. "If you want to stay and fight I won't give up."

"No, they're right. We can retake this area later," Davis sighed.

While they were arguing the Divermon were marching toward them. Now that they were in range of the group they began lobbing their harpoons at them. The rain of harpoons was stopped when MegaKabuterimon landed in front of them. The harpoons bounced harmlessly off his hard protective shell.

"If we're going to leave we should do it now," JP instructed landing beside them.

"Can you guys whip us up a smokescreen?" Sora asked looking up at her partner. The remaining fighters nodded and began charging up their attacks. The rest of them were getting ready to make a break for it, those with injured partners picked them up and cradled them in their arms.

They released their attacks at the front lines of the mob of Divermon. The collision of their attacks caused another explosion accompanied with a decent sized cloud of smoke. It proved to provide a good distraction as they got away, and hopefully it took out a few of the Divermon as well.

Dragomon swung his trident through the air causing the smoke to dissipate. There were no signs of the children, but rather than being upset that his foes escaped he began to laugh. They would come back eventually, and their retreat would give them a chance to set up a base here in the human world. The ragged battlefield was filled with Dragomon's malicious laughter.

* * *

After they got a safe distance away they stopped to catch their breath. The Garudamon, Aquilamon, Zudomon and MegaKabuterimon de-digivolved into their rookie forms and plopped down next to their partners. Zoe and JP's shadow forms slowly dissipated as they landed near the group, stumbling a little once they hit the ground. No one spoke, the reality of their loss slowly sinking in.

Most of them suffered minor injuries. There were a few unfortunate ones that had slightly more harmful wounds. The bandage on Tommy's arms was now soaked in blood, and poor Wormmon had horrible bruises that were starting to form along his side that caused him to wince if he moved a certain way.

But it wasn't their injuries that were at the forefront of their minds. Their recent loss was dragging down the mood. They had failed, thoroughly beaten by the enemy. No one spoke causing a dampening silence to cover the group. It was obvious they were depressed with their eyes downcast sitting in complete silence.

Looking sadly at her friends Sora broke the silence, "My house is close to here, we can rest there and treat everyone's injuries," she suggested.

"Yolei and I can stop by the store and pick up a few bandages and first aid kits." Mimi stood up and held out her hand to help Yolei stand. Palmon and Hawkmon agreed to stay with the others in order to avoid any unnecessary questions as to why they were carrying large strange looking dolls.

When the two girls began to leave the others headed out in the direction of Sora's house. On the way there Takuya noticed that Davis was starting to lag behind the rest of the group. He slowed his strides until he was walking next to the younger boy.

"C'mon Davis you're going to be left behind," Takuya said trying to cheer up his obviously depressed friend.

"I know it was for the best but I feel like we just gave up," Davis shook his head; he was still upset that they ran away from Dragomon.

"Even if it sucks, sometimes running away is the best option." Takuya began remembering their trip to the Digital World. "On our adventure we came across this really strong digimon that we couldn't defeat," he stayed away from Duskmon's name just in case. The chosen children were already wary about Kouichi he didn't want to give them another reason. "I wanted to stay and fight but Kouji made us run away. I thought he was just being a coward but I was cocky; I was so sure that together we could beat him. I convinced the others that Kouji was wrong and we fought him again with this stupid plan that I came up with," he paused, the battle with Duskmon replaying in his head.

"How did it go?" Davis asked egger to hear more about the Legendary Warriors journey to the Digital World.

"We lost. I would have been killed if Kouji hadn't taken the blow for me. That battle taught me humility and that charging forward isn't always the right answer."

"I understand better now but-" Davis looked a bit skeptical, "no offense or anything but Kouji doesn't seem the kind of guy to do something like that."

"He may seem gruff on the outside but trust me when it comes to his friends he's just a cute snuggly puppy on the inside," Takuya laughed.

"Maybe I should have let you get sliced in half," came Kouji's voice from near the front of the group.

"It's rude to eavesdrop," Takuya yelled back.

"It's also not nice to talk about other people behind their back." With all the commotion going on in the past few days it was comforting to hear the two of them bicker like how they used to. This certainly raised the mood and roused laughs from the rest of the kids.

* * *

**Sora's House**

Sora's house was empty when they get there. Her mother was out doing errands and her father was still on away on one of his trips. As the children began filling into the house Sora went to get a few extra chairs and turned on the TV for some background noise.

All the children were gathered in Sora's living room. Yolei and Mimi were helping Joe treat the injured. They cleaned the smaller cuts and left the major injuries to the doctor in-training. Everyone was worried about Tommy's arm even if he kept insisting he was fine. When Joe unraveled the bloody bandages on his arm the bleeding had already stopped and the wound was much shallower than it originally was.

"Your healing abilities are amazing," Joe gasped, "it healed this much in a little over an hour when it should have taken it a few days to reach this stage."

Looking over at his friends healing arm Takuya has a mischievous glimmer in his eyes and a wide smile breaking across his face, wild ideas already forming in his mind.

"Don't even think about it." JP cut off Takuya's wild imagination, making him pout.

"I guess it's one of the perks of being part digimon," Zoe said.

Joe went around the rest of the group checking their wounds and making sure that Yolei and Mimi had bandaged the others properly. After confirming that everyone was going to be fine he slumped down on one of the couches, mentally exhausted. As soon as he sat down Gomamon jumped onto his lap, closing his eyes ready for a nice long nap.

"So what do we do now?" Cody asked, sitting with his back to the wall stroking Amadillomon's shell.

"We regroup then try to take that area back. We can't wait too long before they send for reinforcements," Matt said. He was sitting backwards on one of the kitchen chairs resting his head on his arms which were on the back of the chair.

Gabumon who was sitting at the foot of the chair looked up at his partner, "After a good rest we should be ready to fight again."

Kouji shook his head at them from his position leaning against the wall, "It's going to be harder than that we're going to need some kind of plan; we can't just go rushing in blindly."

"What's the plan then?" Davis asked. His question went unanswered.

A loud beep from the TV startled the children making them jump and awakening the ones that were starting to doze. The TV had changed from its regular program to an emergency broadcast. Bright red letters flashed across the screen: 'MONSTER INVATION'. Someone had recorded their battle with Dragomon and it was now airing on TV.

"What's going on?"

"This is bad."

The noise from the video clips were turned off and replaced with the reporter's voice. "Strange monsters have appeared and have been terrorizing the city. We are asking everyone to evacuate immediately." When the message was played in a loop, once it ended the video restarted and played over again.

After watching the video about three times the message finally started sinking into the stunned kids that were all gathered around the TV.

"Evacuate?"

"We can't leave now! They'll take the city for sure!"

"What are we supposed to do?"

The room erupted in questions and concerns, their voices downing out the TV. Tai and Izzy tried to bring order back to the room, but it still took a while for them to all calm down.

"It's obvious we all need to stay. We can't just up and leave that will give them the opening they need to take the city," Tai said.

"What about our families? They shouldn't stay here and they won't understand if we tell them we need to stay." Zoe was concerned about her parents. She didn't want to just abandon them but it would be dangerous for them to stay back with them. A few of the other nodded their heads in agreement, sharing her concern. There were a few moments of silence while they contemplated what to do.

"We don't really have a choice we need to tell our parents everything," Izzy said.

"Easy for you to say your parents already know about the digimon." Takuya took of his hat and ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "You're not part digimon, you don't need to explain to your family why you're not all human anymore."

The chosen felt sympathetic toward the warriors. Sora wrapped her arms around Zoe whose eyes began to water imaging the worst scenario.

"It's just something that we have to go through. They deserve to know and we can't just abandon you guys," Kouichi said. It would be hard, but together just maybe they can get their parents to understand.

Cell phones started ringing; worried families must have seen the message too and were worried about their kids. Before any of them could answer Tai spoke up, "Everyone, go to your families grab your things and meet back at the park. It will be easier if we can tell them all at once. We're all going to need the moral support."

The others nodded and began answering their calls. Even if they had to leave behind their families behind they would be okay; they still had each other.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**A/N: Sorry for such a long wait. When I first wrote this chapter I hated it and ended up deleting like 2/3 of it, but trust me this version is so much better. Enjoy :)**

After the chosen left Sora's house they rushed to their own house to meet their families and get some of their things.

It was easy for the children with parents that already knew about digimon to convince them to meet at the park before they left town, but for the others they had a very hard time getting their parents to listen to them. The original chosen along with Ken had no problem getting their parent s to come along.

Like most of the people the parents were in a panic, rushing to get a few necessities and anything of importance before evacuating their homes. They were shocked when their children returned home in such a ragged state. To them the thought of stopping at the park before they left was foolish, but the children were persistent.

The ones with parents that knew about digimon were already gathered in the park. Izzy was already furiously typing at his computer. His parents and Tai looked curiously over his shoulder.

"What you doing Izzy?" Tai asked.

"I'm trying to contact Gennai. He would be able to explain what's going on better than I could," Izzy said.

"Good idea, the other parents would probably take him more seriously." Tai patted his friend on the shoulder before walking away to check on his family.

Looking up from his computer Izzy quickly checked on all his friends. They were all spending the last moments with their families before they had to evacuate. It brought a smile to his face to see that the parents were also talking to the digimon.

Although they tried to keep positive the parents couldn't keep the fear out of their hearts. They knew their children were the Digital World's heroes but to them they were still children. "I know your guys saved the world a few times already but promise me you'll be safe," Mimi's mom said. The other parents nodded in agreement, for they shared the same concerns.

"Don't worry I'll make sure nothing happens to her," Palmon said, coming to stand next to Mimi who thanked her partner. The other partners followed her example and promised the parents that they would take good care of their kids.

Breaking away from his family Matt walked over to Tai. "The others should start arriving soon, don't you think the digimon should find a place to hide," Matt suggested. "Their parents don't know about digimon they'll probably freak out with them just standing around in the open like this."

"Your right, maybe after we have a chance to explain what's going on then we can introduce them," Tai said. They still had a few minutes to prepare, and found suitable hiding places for all the parterns.

Once the last partner digimon was successfully hidden, Cody and Yolei came around the corner with their families.

"That was close," Joe said, only to get elbowed in the ribs by Matt.

"Where are Hawkmon and Armadilomon?" Sora asked. Looking at the approaching families the other chosen noticed that the two digimon were absent.

"They are most likely are following a little farther behind to stay out of sight." Izzy had placed his laptop down and went to stand next to the others. He had finished making contact with Gennai, now they were just waiting for the others to arrive.

* * *

It took about ten more minutes for the rest of the gang to reach the park, the only ones missing where Tommy and Davis. The newly arrived families were fidgeting and constantly looking around to see if anything was coming.

"Why are we just standing around in the open like this we should be leaving already," Takuya's dad was getting fed up with just standing around.

"Davis and Tommy should be here soon just hang on a bit longer." Izzy returned to his laptop and was busy typing and didn't even look up when he addressed Takuya's dad. Mr. Kanbara scowled at Izzy, who did this kid think he was bossing them around like that?

As if sensing the heated glare Izzy stopped his typing and looked up at the worried and frightened parents. "A friend of ours is coming to explain everything just hang on for a few more moments," Izzy said, as he went back to his typing. The rest of the kids shared confused looks, who was coming? What was Izzy talking about?

"At least we're not waiting on me this time," Takuya tried to reduce the tension with a joke.

"That's a first you're late for everything else," Kouji teased. His mom gave him a warning glance to be nice. Seeing his friend silently getting scolded Takuya couldn't hold back a snicker which earned him a glare from Kouji.

"There they are!" Mimi shouted, pointing to the edge of the park. The others turned to see Tommy and Davis walking in with their families close behind them. Tommy's mom was walking next to him with an arm wrapped around her son's shoulders. No matter how many times Tommy told her that it was just a small scratch on his arm, she was still very nervous about her son's health.

"Now that everyone's here we can begin," Izzy said turning his laptop so that the screen faced the others. All the parents had confused looks on their faces as the children took a few steps away.

Suddenly the screen began to glow giving off a blinding white light. The shocked parents shut their eyes and covered their faces to block out the light. After a few moments the light finally faded, when they opened their eyes they were shocked to see a tall cloaked figure standing in front of them.

"Don't be alarmed my name is Gennai, I'm a friend of your children." The man reached up to remove his hood showing off the face of a handsome young man.

"What's going on?"

"Where did you come from?"

"Did you just come out of a computer?"

"How do you know our kids?"

The stunned parents began launching questions at an overwhelmed Gennai. With the children's help Gennai managed to calm down their parents enough to begin his explanation.

"Izzy sent me a message saying that the battle here has taken a turn for the worst. With the enemy trying to take over the city I'm glad to hear that the residents are getting moved to safety. Unfortunately our sources tell us that they are planning another invasion soon. "

"Wait," interrupted Kouji's dad, "You know where these monsters are from?"

"Yes these creatures are called digimon they live in an alternate world called the Digital World. It was recently taken over by two very evil digimon that now have their eyes set on taking over the human world." There were gasps and exclamations from the parents but Gennai held up his hand to silence them and continued his explanation. "But your children are doing the best they can to save the human world."

"But how? What makes them so different from any other kids?" Davis's dad spoke up from the back of the group.

"Your children were chosen to protect both worlds, they were bestowed with a digivice and a partner digimon," Gennai explained. "Together with their partners a great power is unleashed that can force out the evil that is trying to dominate both worlds. They have already saved the Digital World three times already."

Gennai waved to the bushes to signal the partner digimon out of hiding. Seeing his signal the digimon burst from the bushes and ran next to their partners. The parents who have never seen the partner digimon took frightened steps backward. Their looks of fear turned to shock when their children picked up their digimon or pet them on the head.

Slowly the parents of the chosen began to warm up to the digimon partners. Gennai smiled when he saw the parents hesitantly petting the partner digimon and attempted to hold conversations with them.

"When did all this happen? Wouldn't we have noticed our children missing?" Cody's mom asked as she gently petted Armadilomon's shell.

"We used our computer club as an excuse to travel to the Digital World, it was really hard to keep a secret," Yolei answered.

"This little guy is tough enough to fight off those huge monsters we saw on TV?" Yolei's sister said as she slightly tugged on the feather attached to Hawkmon's headband.

"Of course I am. I am ten times stronger than those weaklings!" Hawkmon batted away her hand and puffed out his chest proudly. Yolei snickered at her partner's prideful stance and her sister's startled face.

"The first time you met the digimon was a few years ago wasn't it?" Izzy's mom asked.

"Correct, the first time we went to the Digital World was during summer camp. When we were there time past much faster there so no one noticed that we were gone. But after the Dark Masters were destroyed the time in the Digital World slowed down to match ours." Izzy explained to the parents. He then turned toward the warriors and asked, "Did time travel faster on your journey?"

"It did. Our whole adventure took about one minute," Takuya said.

Shinya looked at his brother with stars in his eyes, "So you went to some other world and saved it from some evil people that's awesome." Takuya smirked and nodded at his brother. "Geez that's so cool." The rest of the warrior's parents didn't share Shinya's excitement.

"It was actually thanks to the Digital World that I found Kouji," Kouchi said turning toward their family.

"But I thought you guys said you met at the train station?" their dad asked.

"In a way that's true since there used to be a portal to the Digital World underneath the train station," Kouji said, "We all met in that world and we've been friends ever since."

Zoe's mom wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders and chuckled. "So this is how you met your boys. I guess adventuring in a whole other world is enough to make you all pretty close."

"Mom, stop it!" Zoe's face was bright red. Her mom was always teasing her because she mostly hung out with the same group of boys. She was just waiting for her daughter to finally confess that one of them was her boyfriend.

"If you don't have a partner why are we here?" JP's dad asked noticing that his son and a few other children lacked partners.

The warriors shared worried glances. "Well our partners are kind of dead," JP answered rather bluntly. The excitement that flowed through the group dissipated after that comment. The chosen's parents looked at them sadly. They knew how attached their children were to their partners, it must have been hard for them to part with theirs.

Gennai coughed lightly to break the silence, "I'm sorry to interrupt but I think we've stayed here long enough, it's dangerous here. It's time for us to part ways."

All the parents, excluding the parents of the first group of chosen, looked at their children expecting them to say farewell to their partners. They were surprised when their children just stood there looking at them with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry but where staying here," Tai spoke for the whole group.

The parents were outraged, they thought they were just going to meet the digimon not leave their children with them.

"It's too dangerous we can't leave them here!"

"They're just children."

The children tried their best to convince their parents. That they would be alright and everything was under control. But it wasn't. They were losing the city, a few of them got hurt, but they couldn't tell their parents that.

"If you don't have partners why are you even here!?" Takuya's dad was outraged. The warriors couldn't look at their parents or their friends this is what they were afraid of. They looked away from their parents unsure how to answer them.

"I think it's time we left. I'm sorry but I can't let you stay here." Zoe's father grabbed her hand and started to tug Zoe toward the park entrance.

"Dad I can't leave they need my help!" Zoe dug her heels into the ground halting their movement.

Her father turned toward her angrily, "Your friend just said your partners are dead right? If you stay here you'll just be in the way and be put in unnecessary danger."

Zoe's mom caught up to them and stood next to her dad. "Your father's right, come on lets go."

Zoe shut her eyes tight and raised her free hand toward her dad. A small gust of wind shot out of her palm and knocked her dad backwards. He lost his grip on his daughter's wrists and stumbled backwards a few steps.

"What the hell!" He was stunned and so were the rest of the parents. Did that girl just summon a gust of wind?

Zoe's eyes were glued firmly to the ground, unable to look at her shocked parents. "I'm sorry but we can't leave yet." She turned away and walked back toward the rest of the warriors

Takuya took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves, they didn't have a choice they needed to tell them or they wouldn't let them stay. "Our partners may be dead but they turned into spirits," Takuya held up his hand producing a small ball of flame in his hand. "They live inside of us so we can help the others fight."

All the parents were speechless. What had happened to these children in this strange world? What did that make them now? The rest of the warriors raised their hands and formed a small ball made of their elements in the palm of their hands. The parents gasped at the display.

After Tommy shook his hand dispersing the little snowball that had formed his mom gently touched her son's bandaged arm. "This is from fighting isn't it?"

"Yeah, but don't worry. With the spirits power it will heal really fast." He tried to reassure his worried parents but it didn't work. His mom covered her face with her hands to hide her tears and his father rested a supportive hand on his son's shoulder. Yutaka wrapped his arm around their mother to try to comfort her.

Looking at his brother he said, "Be careful alright."

"Only if you look after mom and dad," Tommy replied before turning away to hug his dad.

* * *

Gennai watched as the parents embraced their children for what might be the last time before the war began to escalate. Most of the parents were crying or trying their best to hold back tears. They were fearful for their children's safety, but at the same time they were proud. Their children had the fate of the world resting on their shoulders.

"Promise to be careful and look after each other," Ken's dad said.

Cries of, "Don't worry we will," and "Of course don't worry about us," echoed around the group. Time was up, the parents needed to start evacuating. More tears were shed and hugs were shared as the last goodbyes were given.

"Is there anything else we can do for you?" TK's mom asked.

"Actually there is something you can do," Izzy said, "The military is most likely going to be trying to take on the digimon, but they won't stand a chance against them. Once you're in a safe area can you try to convince them to stay out of the city and let us handle it?"

It was going to be a hard task. They highly doubted that the military would listen to a small group of people.

"I think I can help with that. Do any of you have laptops with you?" Gennai asked. Ken's, Matt's and Kouji's fathers nodded and began pulling their laptops out of their bags. "If you let me then I can install a program into your computer that will allow you to contact me in the digital world. That way I can help you convince the military to stay out of the area."

"It's not going to mess up the computer or anything is it?" Kouji's dad asked worriedly, handing over his laptop to the digital man.

"Don't worry its fine. Izzy helped me design this program, and he has a more advanced version of it on his laptop." Gennai passed one of the laptops to Izzy so they could get it done faster. It took about 5 minutes before the laptops were passed back to their owners. "This program is connected to Izzy's laptop too. So you can keep in contact with the kids as well."

There was a lingering silence over the group while they finished packing up their things. They didn't want to leave their children behind but they didn't have much choice. They wouldn't be much help and would only be in the way if they stayed behind.

With a final goodbye the families turned around and started walking toward the edge of the park. The children watched as the outline of their families slowly faded away.

"Well what do we do now?" Sora asked. Looking around the group she saw the sad faces of her friends. All of the children would miss their families but it was much safer for them if they stayed away from the area.

Breaking the silence Ken spoke up, "We need a place to stay while were here, no one has a big enough house to fit all of us."

"Well what about the school?" JP suggested. "Since no one's going to be around the whole place is going to empty."

"I can set up a workstation in the computer lab, that's not a bad idea JP," Izzy said.

"And there's a cafeteria full of food!" Davis shouted with excitement. A few of the others looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"You like the cafeteria food?" Matt asked.

"Well if you don't that's fine more for us right buddy," Takuya laughed, and wrapped his arm around Davis's shoulder.

"There should be enough food there for the digimon too, at least for a while," Tai said. So far the school looked like the best option. After promising to contact Gennai once they get set up, Izzy opened the portal again to send him back to the Digital World. They had a long day and were completely exhausted, picking up their bags they walked through the deserted streets toward the school.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Once the kids reached the school they quickly gathered some necessities that they would need since they were going to be living there for a while. Izzy made a beeline to the computer lab and started moving around the towers and monitors to make a nice little nest for himself. With Ken and Yolei's help he started to install the same program that Gennai had put onto their parents laptops onto some of the school computers. If anything happened to his laptop these would be good backups.

The rest of the kids and the digimon cleared out two of the class rooms adjacent to the computer lab for them to sleep in. They left some of the chairs and tables there and moved the rest of them into a different classroom to give them some open space.

Joe took TK and Cody with him to get some pillows and blankets from the nurse's office. While the others finished moving the last of the chairs out Cody popped his head into the doorway. "There are two beds in the nurse's office should be bring them here?"

"There's a bed? I refuse to sleep on the disgusting ground! Mimi flew past a startled Cody as she sprinted toward the awaiting bed. Palmon apologized to Cody and hurried after her partner.

"Well it's obvious who's getting that one but what do we do with the other bed?" Davis asked.

"We don't need it so don't worry about us," Veemon said. The other digimon also insisted that their human partners have the bed.

"Well I think that the girls should have it," Kouichi said glancing at the remaining girls in the room. The other guys agreed with him.

"It will be fun watching them fight over it," Takuya joked.

"Thanks guys," Zoe smiled at them before turning to glare at Takuya. "At least Kouchi was being a gentleman about it." Takuya chucked nervously and Kouichi looked away with a blush slightly embarrassed.

"Let's go help them, they can't move those things on their own," Tai said. He led a few more boys and some digimon to the nurse's office to help Joe and TK start moving the beds. It took about half an hour to successfully move both of the beds to the classroom that was designated to the females of the group.

Mimi was already lying face down in one of the beds, so that left only one more to be distributed. Zoe and Sora both agreed that Kari should take it. But Kari refused, she said she was just fine sleeping on the ground and that one of them should take it. The argument went around in circles until Ken, Izzy and Yolei came in. They had finished setting up the computer lab and came to see what the others were doing.

Seeing the open bed Yolei let out a cheer of happiness and dove into the sheets.

"Well that solves that problem," Davis laughed.

"What problem?" Yolei looked up confused.

"Nothing to worry about," Kari smiled at her. "You can use the bed Yolei the rest of us don't mind." Yolei quickly jumped out of bed and hugged her friend thanking her.

"You know, these could be a little softer," Mimi said poking lamely at the mattress.

"You complain an awful lot don't you?" Kouji asked her with a raised eyebrow. Mimi huffed and turned away, refusing to answer. Kouichi elbowed his brother gently silently trying to tell him to be nice. Kouji just closed his eyes and shrugged in return.

Now that the sleeping arrangements were made they headed toward the cafeteria for some food. It was hard to tell who ate more the digimon or Takuya and Davis. Once all bellies were full they headed back to the classrooms to have a well-deserved rest. While most of the children quickly passed out a few of them were still awake.

But Izzy wasn't ready to hit the hay yet, and was busy typing on one of the school computers. Stepping over some of the cables Tai and Matt walked up to their friend. "What are you doing still up?" Matt asked.

Izzy paused in his typing and swivelled the chair to face them. "I'm contacting Gennai to see if that training room is up and running."

Tai looked at him confused, "But why? We don't really have much time to train the invasion is already happening."

"We need to find out who the warriors 2nd partners are. I don't know about you guys, but I can't take many more days of fighting like we just did," Izzy sighed exhaustedly and slouched in his chair. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I hate to say it, but we're at a serious disadvantage. There are probably thousands more digimon waiting to attack us and we lost to only a small number of them."

"I know but we can't just give up," Tai tried to cheer up his friend. "So what did Gennai say?"

"The room isn't competed but we should be able to power it enough to let us actually talk to the warrior spirits," Izzy said.

"We can do that?!"

"If we can actually talk to them then we can figure out who we are paired with, and it will save us a lot of time and give us extra firepower," Izzy said.

"We can spit into groups tomorrow. A few of us can go with you and try to see if that room thing works and the rest of us can keep an eye on the city," Matt suggested. The other two boys nodded in agreement.

"We can figure who goes where tomorrow, but now I think it's time we all go get some rest." Tai leaned over Izzy to turn off the computer before he could protest.

When morning came and everyone had their share of breakfast Izzy told them of his talk with Gennai from the previous night. "I know that JP is going to be coming with me but is there anyone else that wants to come?" Izzy asked the group.

"I'll go," Cody spoke up. "Yolei is better than computer stuff than I am but I'll try to help anyway I can."

"Why don't we go too," Joe volunteered himself and Tommy. Tommy wasn't too happy about that, insisting that he wanted to stay and fight.

"I want to stay here in case we get attacked again."

"But in order for you to fight you need me and Gomamon. But Gomamon is still a bit tired from yesterday."

"What I am not! I'm perfectly-" Gomamon began to protest. A sharp elbow to the side from Gabumon made him falter. Looking up at Joe he noticed the worried look he was giving Tommy. Now he understood, Joe wanted to keep Tommy out of any fighting just for a little while more while his arm finished healing. "I mean, umm, I am still a little sore still from yesterday."

"Kouji was hurt too and no one stopped him," Tommy argued remembering the time Kouji was attacked my LadyDevimon.

"My wound wasn't as bad as yours is," Kouji said, "and it's not like they could stop me even if they tired." The other warriors snickered quietly; Kouji was way too stubborn to listen to them.

"Fine whatever," Tommy huffed crossing his arms and turning away from them. He knew Joe and Gomamon were lying but chose not to say anything about it.

Mimi tentatively stepped forward, "If you guys don't mind can I come too? I want to see how the digimon are doing." She was worried about the refugees since they were in such a pitiful state last time they saw them.

"Of course you can come. There are still enough people remaining that can take care of the city until we get back," Izzy said.

"What should the rest of us do?" Kari asked.

"There are enough of us to form multiple groups so we can cover more ground in the city," Davis said counting the people staying behind.

"We shouldn't spread ourselves too thin in case we get attacked," advised Kouichi. Eventually they came to the decision that two groups of six was a good number. Two groups would cover more ground and still be a formidable fighting force if they came across hostile digimon. One group would search the harbor area and the other would check the area close to the TV station. Their main objective was to see if any new enemy units had entered the human world and to try and find out where Dragomon had taken refuge. In the past the TV station was a popular area for digmon attacks. Since Dragomon is lord of the Dark Ocean it would only make sense for him to stay in an area close to water.

"If you find anything don't fight them we just need to get a general idea where they're hiding," Matt said.

"Make sure to keep in contact and let us know if you find anything." Tai waved goodbye as the groups began to go their separate ways. Izzy, Joe, Mimi, Cody, JP, and Tommy disappeared in a flash of light from one of the monitors. Tai, Davis, Sora, Yolei, Takuya, and Zoe took off toward the center of town. The final group to leave was Matt, TK, Kari, Ken, Kouji, and Kouichi who had their eyes set on the harbor.

* * *

**Digital World**

Izzy's group landed in a heap on the floor in front of Gennai's desktop. After untangling themselves and dusting the dirt off their clothes they headed down the corridor to where the training room was located.

"How did you guys travel like this every day?" JP said disgustedly as he wiped more dirt off his shoulder.

"You get used to it after a while," Cody chuckled.

The steel door automatically opened as the approached it. Much to their relief the place looked much better than last time they were here. The houses were still in bad shape but the air surrounding the place seemed much happier. As they walked in they were greeted by excited baby digimon. The little ones were rolling around, the group assumed they were wrestling, until they laid eyes on the new comers. They recognized the group from their previous visit and quickly stopped their squabble and bounced happy circles around them.

"I'm glad that you seem to be doing fine," Mimi smiled at them. She picked up one of the Poromon that nuzzled her leg happily.

With their escort of baby digimon they headed to the center of the retreat where they knew Gennai and the others were waiting for them. Along the way a few of the other residents peeked outside of their houses and waved at them.

"This place does seem a lot better than last time," Tommy said when he and the others returned the friendly greetings.

They entered the large house to see Leomon and Piximon looking over a map of the Digital World. There was also an Elecmon sitting on the table with them.

But this Elecmon was different from the others that were outside, turning around to see the children his eyes widened with happiness. "Mimi, Izzy, Joe, it's so nice to see you all again."

"You're looking well Elecmon," Mimi said, recognizing their friend from Primary Village.

"I was hiding out with some the babies from Primary Village when Leomon found me," Elecmon said. "Now now you guys leave them alone they have important business to discuss." Elecmon began to lead the baby digimon out of the building. They made sad cooing noises and looked back at them with big watery eyes that melted Mimi and Palmon's hearts.

Piximon chuckled, "Now isn't that cute, but on to more important things. How are you feeling? We heard that you took a real beating." The children and partner digimon looked away not wanting to meet the eyes not wanting to meet the eyes of Piximon and Leomon.

"Even if you lost at least you're all safe that's what matters." Leomon walked over and put a reassuring hand on Izzy's shoulder. "You're here to see Gennai right?"

"We wanted to see that training room again. We need to talk to the warrior spirits where going to need all the fire power we can get." Tentomon lifted off the ground to hover near Piximon. The other partner digimon gave cheers of agreement.

"Andromon managed to find us a better power source and Datamon is helping us with put everything together," Piximon said. The older chosen shared worried looks, the last time they saw a Datamon it was during the Etamon incident and he wasn't very friendly.

"What's wrong guys?" Armadilomon asked, tugging on Joe's pants leg.

"Well last time we met a Datamon he tricked us and kidnapped Sora." Izzy shook his head at the bad memories.

"Not all digimon are the same. When we met a Datamon he worked in a shop and gave me my beast spirit for helping him beat a videogame," Tommy said.

"Let's hope it's not the one that we remember," said Joe in a worried tone.

They headed over to the training room with Piximon and Leomon walking behind them.

When they entered the room there was a large piece of slightly banged up machinery plugged into the wall. Andromon and Datamon were just replacing some of the metal plates on the wall. The chosen let out the breath they were holding, the Datamon wasn't the one they came across before. Gennai was busy flipping through and old book with Centarumon reading over his shoulder.

Hearing the approaching footsteps Andromon looked up. "It is nice to see you all again," he greeted. "And some new faces, you must be the new kids Gennai was talking about."

"Yup that's us." JP slung his arm around Tommy and leaned slightly on his shorter friend.

"It's good you made it. Where are the others?" Gennai asked.

"They stayed behind to look after the city," Palmon said. Gennai nodded that was a good enough reason for him.

"So what exactly is going on?" Joe asked.

"In order for you children to fight off the evil ones you're going to need to harvest more of the spirits power by finding your second partner," Centarumon explained, "Hopefully if this works we can get the spirits input and find out who they feel are worthy of working with them."

"I'm already in college why are they still calling me a kid?" JP complained.

He was immediately shushed my Tommy who had a more important question. "If the spirits can talk to us so why don't they just tell us who our partners are?"

"I think it's harder for them to sense the presents of others while they are in your bodies. You partners would need to be giving off the power that the spirits are looking for and be in close proximity to you for the spirits to pick them up. But in this room the spirits can temporarily leave your bodies and search for your partners themselves." After Gennai finished his explanation both Tommy and JP were looking at him with excited expressions.

"Well what are we waiting for them let's give it a try!" Tommy said excitedly.

Gennai he began typing commands into his laptop and instructed Datamon to power up the generator. At first nothing happened making the group groan with disappointment. Then suddenly the ceiling lights faded and the runes along the wall glowed brightly.

"It's working." Centarumon stood up excitedly and moved to stand next to Gennai. The generator gave a few sputtering noises causing the runes to flicker. Andromon walked over it to see what was wrong.

"I fixed it up the best I could but it may not last too long." He walked around the machine checking the wiring and the motor. JP walked over and sharply smacked the side of the generator. The sputtering noises stopped and the lights came back in full strength.

"Is that what you learned in college?" Tommy teased.

"Shut up."

Laughter erupted from their friends at JP's disgruntled expression. Trying to divert the attention away from Tommy's snarky remark JP asked," So what are we supposed to do now?"

As an answer to his question he started to glow a bright yellow. The other occupants of the room gasped, looking over at Tommy JP saw that his friend was also glowing but with a green light. Soon, small colored balls of light shot out of their chests taking the glowing auras with them.

"Hey it's those lights that were in the tank before," Armadillomon pointed out as the green one zoomed past his head.

After the two balls of light zoomed around the room they came to a stop directly in front of Tommy and JP. They hovered a few feet above the ground before they began to take shape. Where the yellow orb was a tall muscular digimon stood. He was covered in blue and gold armor; his helmet covered the lower part of his face and had a large horn coming out of the top. The green orb took a much smaller form, less than half the size of the other digimon. It changed into a polar bear that had a green vest, boots, and headband.

Gennai and the other digimon in the room looked at the new arrivals with wide eyes and open mouths. Part of their history just materialized in front of their eyes. Recognizing their partners instantly, JP and Tommy ran over to greet them. JP shared a firm handshake with Beetlemon while Tommy had to kneel down to match his partners height and playfully rubbed the top of his head. After hugging both their partners they introduced them to the others.

"This is Beetlemon Legendary Warrior of Thunder." JP stood proudly next to his partner.

"And this is Kumamon Warrior of Ice," Tommy introduced.

"It's an honor to meet you." Gennai and the digimon bowed in respect to some of the most renowned digimon in history. Joe, Izzy, and Cody mimicked their actions.

Mimi was standing with hands on her hips eyes fixed on Kumamon. With a slight pout she broke away from the others and walked over to them. Everyone watched her with confused expressions. What in the world was she doing?

"Hi!" Kumamon greeted excitedly once Mimi was standing in front of him.

To everyone's shock she scooped up the small bear digimon and held him in a bone crushing hug. "You are the most adorable thing I have ever seen!" she gushed. Tommy couldn't stop laughing at his spirit's dilemma. Mimi held Kumamon tightly in her arms rubbing her cheek to his face rambling on how cute he was.

"Tommy….help…" Kumamon wheezed, reaching out to his partner who ignored his pleas for help and continued laughing. Beetlemon and JP joined in on Tommy's laughter.

"Mimi I think you're hurting him." Palmon prodded her partner's side trying to get her attention. But unfortunately for poor Kumamon she was ignored as Mimi kept on snuggling him.

Kumamon couldn't take it anymore. Before he was strangled to death he began to melt. His body, now a liquid, seeped through Mimi's arms and onto the floor. Mimi let out a surprised squeal and jumped backwards staring at the puddle of goo that was now Kumamon. Tommy was now was lying on the floor laughing hysterically tears starting to form in his eyes.

"I think you broke him." Gomamon walked up to the puddle and went to prod it with a claw.

With a slight pop the puddle sprung up and miraculously became the solid form of Kumamon again. "Phew that was close," Kumamon gasped taking in large gulps of air his hand resting over his rapidly beating heart.

"Well that was a nice introduction," Beetlemon said, "but no need to be so polite." He rubbed the back of his head slightly embarrassed at all the attention.

"Now that we know this works we can go get the others so we can find out the pairings for the others," Izzy said. He and Cody turned around and headed for the door.

"Hold on, there's no need for that everyone is right here," Kumamon interrupted. His skis materialized beneath his boots and he slid forward blocking them from going any farther.

"I don't understand." Cody looked between Kumamon and Beetlemon. The two spirits simply smiled at him. Then his and Mimi's digivices began to glow.

Mimi pulled her glowing digivice out of her pocket, in the center of the screen a strange light blue symbol flashed. Confused she looked up at the spirits, her eyes widening as she recognized the symbol in the center of Kumamon's vest was the same one that was on the screen of her digivice. "Does this mean?"

"Yup! Were partners, but please no more hugs." Kumamon shook his head chuckling with both arms raised in front of him to make sure Mimi keeps her distance.

Cody was still looking at his glowing digivice when Beetlemon silently moved to stand next to him. "What's wrong Cody?" Armadilomon asked, looking up at him.

"I thought that our partners were supposed to match elements. Kouji and Kari both represent light, and Tai has Agumon who is sort of a fire digimon and is paired up with Takuya. Armadilomon doesn't have any from that has a relation to thunder." Cody was confused as to why he was being paired up with JP and Beetlemon. The only one in their group that he could think of that was of the lightning element other than Tentomon was Raidramon.

"Your partner may not match my element but it doesn't matter," Beetlemon said. "It goes much deeper than that. You are always looking after others and putting them before yourself. Just like Junpei feels likes he's responsible for the others because he's the oldest."

After rolling this new theory around in his head for a few moments Cody said, "I think I understand now. It's not the elements that bind us; it's our feelings and personality."

"That's right," Kumamon chipped in. "I can feel that Mimi is really caring just like Tommy, that's why I chose you to be my partner." He smiled at Mimi and Palmon.

"Excuse me I have a question." Tentomon flew up to them, landing next to Armadilomon. "Cody doesn't have a crest like the others so how is Armadilomon supposed to evolve?"

"He may not have a crest but he has some other artifact, right?" Beetlemon asked.

"I have the digieggs of knowledge and reliability." Cody took out his D-Terminal and showed them the figures that represented the digieggs.

"It works the same way that the crests do. They are powered by your hearts and give strength to your partners. Your armor digivolutions should grow progressively stronger as we do," Beetlemon explained.

"But that's not the only good news," Kumamon said. "Now that Tomoki and JP found their second partners they would be able to spirit evolve correctly. Now we're getting the extra boost from two different sources that should be just what we needed."

"Sweet!" Tommy punched the air excitedly disturbing his hat.

"But don't be so hasty, it's going to be more of a strain than just using the energy shadows," Beetlemon warned.

"But that's noting we can't overcome," JP boasted, he high-fived Tommy who had the same confident grin on his face.

"Just be careful," Kumamon said.

"We can make sure they don't overdo it." Joe and Gomamon came to stand next to Kumamon and Tommy, with Mimi and Palmon coming up on his other side. The rest of the children gathered around them. Beetlemon rested his hands on Izzy and Cody's shoulders nodding at them approvingly.

"It's all coming together now," Gennai said. He and the other digimon looked at the gathered group of children and their digimon partners with pride. Now the world didn't seem to dim; now there is hope that will defeat Lucemon and Daemon.

**A/N: Went back and edited some of the first few chapters. Nothing much changed just some little things like grammar errors and sentence structure. At first I was going to pair up Mimi with JP and Cody with Tommy since they are both the youngest of their groups. But then I imagined Mimi meeting Kumamon and I had to change it XP. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**A/N: Here's my gift to you all. Happy Holidays! :)**

**Somewhere in Town**

Tai's group was working their way toward the TV station. Judging by their past experiences, the TV station had multiple sightings of digimon so it was probably a good bet something would show up there. So far the city was deserted, all the civilians cleared out the other day and they haven't seen any digimon.

"This place is a ghost town," Takuya said as they strolled down the empty street.

"Well maybe that's a good thing. I rather have it be deserted than full of evil digimon," Sora argued.

"I guess, but this is boring I want something exciting to happen," Takuya grumbled.

Yolei gaped at him, "Don't say that. You just jinxed us now we're going to get attacked or something!" Yolei threw her hands in the air in exasperation.

"That would be better than just walking." Davis agreed with Takuya, this scouting stuff was just plain lame. Tai and Sora chuckled lightly at their reactions while Zoe sighed and mumbled something that sounded a lot like 'boys'.

The partner digimon were walking in back of their human partners. They were very amused by the groups light hearted bickering. Suddenly, Veemon stopped and looked off to the side.

"What's wrong Veemon?" Hawkmon asked. The other partner digimon stopped to look at their friend.

"You guys hear that?" Veemon raised his hand to cup his ear listening intently to something.

"It sounds like footsteps," Agumon said, "Guys something's coming!" The humans immediately stopped talking and looked at their partners.

"Look what you did!" Yolei smacked Davis in the shoulder making in flinch.

"Hey it's not my fault."

"Quiet! Where not here to fight let's find some place to hide," Tai instructed. Takuya was going to protest but was immediately silenced from a look from Zoe. They rushed off toward a shadowy ally. It was a little creepy and gross but it provided quick cover.

After successfully positioning themselves into the ally without being seen a group of army soldiers turned the corner. The men were dressed in the regular combat attire, each carrying some kind of rifle on their shoulders.

"What's the military doing here?" Zoe whispered. She received shrugs from the rest of the group.

"I guess they didn't believe our parents," Sora said.

"Well, we should tell them that it's dangerous here and they should leave. We got his covered." Davis moved to leave the ally to confront the army men. Before he could take two steps Tai grabbed the back of his shirt yanking him back.

"We can't just go talk to them, as soon as they see us they're just going to force us to leave the city. We can call our parents tonight and have them try to convince the military to stay clear," Tai whispered harshly.

"What should we do?" Agumon asked. All eyes turned to Tai for an answer.

"We stay out of sight and try not to draw any attention to ourselves. We still need to check out the area in case there are any more digimon." The others nodded and waited for the men to leave before silently slipping out of the ally.

After about an hour more of walking the faint outline of the TV station was finally coming into view. So far they had lucked out and didn't see anymore soldiers.

"I'm tired," Veemon complained, "Davis carry me." Veemon was trudging slightly behind the others, slumped over arms almost dragging on the ground.

"We haven't been walking for that long come on." Agumon tried to encourage his friend by resting a hand on Veemon's back and giving him a slight push.

"C'mon Veemon were almost there. Look you can see the building already," Davis said.

As they looked on the form of the building seemed to be blurrier than the ones next to it. "Is it just me guys or is something covering the building?" Zoe asked.

"Hmm, if you ask me it looks like fog." Takuya raised one hand to his face to block the sun and stared off into the distance.

"Fog? Oh no-" Without waiting for the others Tai started sprinting toward the building, Agumon hot on his tail. The others called out to them, but received no response. Not wanting to leave them alone they rest of the group quickly followed.

"What's wrong with Tai? Why did he take off so quickly?" Yolei asked.

"How should I know, he just freaked out when I said fog," Takuya answered.

"Sora, I think I know why he's so worried." Biyomon who was flying above them next to Hawkmon, fluttered down to talk to them.

"It looks like Myotismon's fog," Sora said finishing her partner's thought. Yolei gasped and Davis growled lightly under his breath.

Confused by their friends reactions Zoe asked, "Who's Myotismon?"

"He tried to conquer both worlds multiple times, he's a really bad dude," Davis explained. "He gave us a lot of problems before we eventually defeated him."

As they chased after Tai they could hear gun shots accompanied by monstrous roars. Tai skidded to a halt as he reached the corner of a building. He stared eyes wide at the scene in front of him. When the others finally caught up to him they saw what caused Tai to stop to suddenly.

There were about three battalions of army soldiers that were trying to fight off some attacking digimon. The soldiers were firing rapidly at the group of Devidramon and MadLeomon. Unfortunately the bullets seem to have little to no affect on the digimon.

* * *

**Harbor**

Like Tai's group the team that was headed toward the harbor found the city completely deserted. But as soon as they reached the harbor area they were ambushed by a group of Gizamon.

They were surrounded, a small squadron of Gizamon circled them waiting for the best moment to strike.

"Don't worry about these guys we can handle them no problem," Gabumon said. He and the other partner digimon formed a protective circle around the humans. The aggressive Gazimon snarled and bared their fangs at the group.

Getting impatient one of the Gazimon launched himself at TK, only to get smacked in the face with Patamon's 'Boom Bubble'. The force of the attack knocked the amphibian digimon back, making it bounce off the pavement. Enraged the rest of the Gazimon began their attack.

Each time a Gazimon threw itself at them, the partner digimon were ready. They easily blasted away the attackers without any of them getting as much as a scratch. Soon enough the Gazimon that were scattered around them, collapsed on the ground covered in small cuts and bruises.

The remaining enemy digimon that could stand wobbled to their feet. They gave one last snarl at them before limping away as fast as they could.

"That was easy," Gatomon said smugly as she dusted off her gloves. Her gloating was cut off by a strange gurgling noise. Immediately the partners jumped to cover the humans.

Four Octomon slithered around the corner, swords raised and guns pointed directly at them.

"You guys are going to need to digivolve to beat these," Matt instructed. He and the other chosen reached into their pockets to grab their digivices.

Kouji reached out and grabbed Matt's arm stopping him from raising his digivice. "We aren't here to fight and the noise would only attract more attention. It would be better if we run."

"We don't really have a choice," Kari said as the Octomon crept closer. The group took a few tentative steps backwards. Kouji slowly began forming a small ball of light in his hands.

When the orb was about the size of an apple he turned to the group. "Get ready." He threw the orb as high into the air as he could. Reaching its peak the orb gave off a blinding light. The surprised Octomon raised their tentacles to block their eyes from the offending light.

With their enemy was temporarily blinded, the group took off as fast as they could. After putting a few blocks between them and the Octomon they stopped to catch their breath.

"It was only four champions why did we run away?" Patamon asked between breaths, resting on TK's head.

"It wasn't just them those Gazimon were headed somewhere, probably to get more help," Kouji said as he rested against the wall of a building. "Besides where not here to fight were just trying to locate where Dragomon went."

"Judging by all the digimon we've come across so far I'd like to say we're getting pretty close," Wormmon said.

"It it makes you feel better think of it as a tactical retreat instead of running away," Kouichi joked. "Kouji and Takuya always clash in their ideals. Kouji tends to play it safe and Takuya just charges straight in."

"That sounds a lot like Davis," Ken chuckled, "Those two are way too alike." All the others started laughing in agreement.

After catching their breath they continued their search, heading toward the ocean. On the way there they saw a few Shellmon and another group of Gazimon. Kouji instructed them to stay away and out of sight to avoid any confrontation.

"Okay this is getting ridiculous," TK complained as they hid from two passing Divermon. "They are traveling in small groups it would be easy to take them out."

"But they're traveling close together so if we start a fight then all the rest will hear us and come running." Kouji was just as stubborn as Takuya and Davis when he wanted to be.

Lucky for them Kouichi could whip up a shadow that hid them from the enemy's eyes. They haven't been discovered so far, but Kouichi was starting to get a little tired.

As TK and Kouji argued, Matt walked over to Kouichi. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright, just need a second to catch my breath," Kouichi smiled at him. He watched as Matt's attention turned to their arguing brothers. "Kouji may seem rough on the outside, but he's just trying to look out for his friends."

"I think it's all a tough guy act, I can feel that he's just a softy on the inside," Kari said she walked over to them along with Ken making the other two boys laugh.

"Don't let Kouji hear you say that," Matt snickered.

"What are you guys talking about?" While they were laughing Kouji and TK finished arguing and came over to see what they were talking about.

"Just some battle strategies," Kouichi bluntly lied.

"Right." Kouji raised one eye brow questioningly. He knew his brother was lying but if it was anything important he would tell him. Seeing the others sniggering at him he turned around and starting heading toward the ocean.

"I think we have gone far enough in don't you think?" Ken asked as he and the others started walking.

"We might was well finish checking this area since were already this far," TK said.

They walked onto the pier strolling past all the boats. This was the longest time that they hadn't come across anymore digimon.

"Looks like there isn't anything here," Wormmon said looking around.

"There's only one place left to look and there's no way I'm going in there," Gatomon pointed to the water.

"I'm not too fond of water so count me out too." Gabumon pulled his fur tightly around himself. Matt smiled at his partner gently patting his head.

"We should have brought Armadillomon or Gomamon with us," Patamon said as he peered down into the water. A blurred shape moves under the water making him cock his head to the side. The waves on the surface make it hard to see into the depths of the water. Squinting slightly Patamon leans over the edge slightly to get a closer look.

There's definitely something moving down there. Patamon caught a glimpse of armor and glowing eyes before it surges to the surface. He jumped back with a startled squawk as a pillar of water erupted from the surface in front of them.

As the water fell away the tall form of MegaSeadragmon was revealed.

* * *

**Near the TV Station**

"We need to help them," Yolei shouted grabbing her digivice. All the partner digimon evolved to champion level and were getting ready to fight.

"Hold on," Zoe grabbed onto her friends arm, "you trying to get them shot?!" The solders wouldn't know the difference between their partners and the enemy.

"We can't just leave them to die," Yolei argued. Screams of terror drew their attention away from each other. One of the MadLeomon had pounced on the group of men and was easily flinging them aside. Blood splattered over the street and the fearful cries of the solders filled the air. Yanking her arm away from Zoe, Yolei jumped on Aquilamon's back. "If they see me then they won't shoot him." Aquilamon lifted off with a flap of his wings before the others could protest.

"She has a point," Sora said as went to stand next to Birdramon, "Tai and Davis can you guys try to talk to the solders get them to retreat. We'll distract them."

Tai nodded, "Be careful." Sora and Zoe shared a glance and nodded. Zoe was swallowed in a ball of wind and Sora's crest and digivice began to glow triggering Birdramon's evolution. When the glow of evolution faded Garudamon hoisted Sora onto her shoulder and flew up to join Yolei and Aquilamon in the dogfight against the Devidramon, closely followed by Zoe in her shadow form.

They quickly engaged in a fight with the Devidramon, catching them in their talons and pulling them away from the soldiers Before going after the Devidramon, Garudamon crushed the MadLeomon into the pavement where it burst into data.

"We can't let the girls have all the fun," Takuya smirked. He walked up to Greymon and patted the dinosaur's leg. "We can take on a few rabid fuzz balls can't we buddy?" Greymon roared in agreement before he and Takuya went thought their own series of evolution.

As the two of them took off ExVeemon flexed his wings getting ready to follow them. "Hold on," Tai stopped him, "I think it would be best if you stayed with us just in case." ExVeemon was itching to get into the fray, but agreed to guard them none the less.

He quickly picked up Tai and Davis and flew toward the slowly retreating group of solders. The army men were in shock, one second they were being demolished by strange monstrous creatures, then suddenly more of those strange creatures entered the fight and were trying desperately to fight of the others. Looking closer at the monsters that saved them they noticed something out of place. Where those kids riding on them?

Cries of fear escaped the mouths of some of the men when a blue dragon looking creature landed directly in front of them. The soldiers raised their guns getting ready to let lose a flurry of bullets. "Wait stop!" For the first time they noticed two boys in the arms of the creature. They lowered their weapons as the two boys were released from ExVeemon's hold. "Don't worry he's on our side, as are the others." Davis gestured to their friends that were bravely fought off the enemy. "It's best if your guys leave we can handle them."

"Sorry but we can't just leave a bunch of kids alone here," one of the solders said.

"We're not alone we have our partners," Tai said, raising his hand to point at ExVeemon. "I know it may seem hard to believe but we can handle it. Your guns don't seem to have much effect on them, so I think it would be safer if you guys left."

They turned to watch the battle. Garudamon, Aquilamon, and Zoe had managed to stop the Devidramon from attacking the ground. Zoe and Aquillamon were small and fast enough to weave between the Devidramon and counter-attack. While Garudamon attacked them from a distance and knocked away any that tried to attack the men on the ground.

During the fight they slowly began drifting away. They were leading the Devidramon farther and farther away to make sure the soldiers where safe.

On the ground the MadLeomon were proving more of a problem. MetalGreymon and Takuya could defeat them easily, but their mere numbers were making the battle difficult. Both of them were taking on at least three or four MadLeomon at once.

One MadLeomon tried to take a swipe out of Takuya only to be caught by his fiery claws and thrown backwards. MadLeomon made a sharp twist of its body and landed on its feet quickly rebounding and going in for another attack followed by two more dark digimon. They were blasted with a super-heated flame that erupted from the dragon's maw. In mere moments the destroyed digimon were replaced and Takuya was forced to continue battling.

MetalGreymon was in a similar position. He used his metal arm to deflect any attacks that came his way. When the MadLeomon bounced off his armor he swiftly clobbered them with his metal claw or with a swipe of his tail.

The solders looked on in awe. Watching the enemy that easily could have killed them all get pushed back by a few kids and their pets made the soldiers rethink the idea of hanging around. They seemed to have it all under control but, should they just abandon them?

"We are just going to be in the way," one of them spoke up.

"So we leave the fate of the city in the hands of a bunch of kids?"

Tai and Davis were listening to them argue. It sounded like they wanted to leave but some of them felt bad putting all the pressure on them to take care of the digimon problem. Some of the more stubborn ones didn't want to leave saying it was shameful that the retreat while a bunch of kids risked their lives.

"Our partners can handle things here, but you can help us in other ways," Tai addressed the men. "You guys can watch the border of the evacuated area for us to make sure that they don't spread."

"If you do see any you can just tell out parents and they can contact us," Davis added. They continued to explain how they can call their parents with Izzy's laptop and that their parents should be contacting their superiors soon.

After a few more negotiations the soldiers agreed to pull out of the city, although reluctantly. As the army began to leave they were ambushed by two MadLeomon that managed to sneak around Takuya and MetalGreymon. A small handful of soldiers where pummeled by the enemy before ExVeemon hit one with a laser blast and tackled the other one to the ground.

"Hurry get out of here," ExVeemon grunted as he wrestled with the snarling digimon. The soldiers didn't hesitate to pick up their injured comrades, and hurried away. The free MadLeomon shook of ExVeemon's attack and jumped into the fray. It slashed at ExVeemon's back with its 'Necrotoxin Claw' while he was occupied fighting the other MadLeomon. The surprise attack caused ExVeemon to drop his guard and get nailed in the stomach by the other digimon he was fighting.

ExVeemon was knocked to the ground with his arms wrapped painfully around his stomach, leaving him wide open to attack. Both MadLeomon released a 'Beast-King Fallen Fist' attack. The two spectral lion heads crashed into ExVeemon causing and explosion.

Davis and Tai were shocked when the smoke cleared reveling Veemon crumpled on the ground. The MadLeomon quickly descended on him. One of them stomped hard on him, crushing the rookie. Tai called out to MetalGreymon, but his partner was preoccupied by the other MadLeomon and couldn't break way. Unable to just sit back and watch his partner get destroyed, Davis ran and them and picked up a grapefruit sized rock and threw it was hard as he could. It hit the closest MadLeomon in the side of the head. The dark digimon growled and shook its head, raising a hand and pressing on the small wound. His plan worked the MadLeomon lost in his partner, but was now heading straight towards him.

* * *

**With Yolei Sora and Zoe**

Yolei gripped tightly to Aquilamon's feathers as her partner dodged the long crimson talons of the devidramon. She clamped her eyes shut when her partner performed a barrel roll to dodge multiple attacks that came their way.

Aquilamon's horns began to glow as he readied a 'Grand Horn' attack. He caught one of the Devidramon by its wings as he shot by. The injured digimon gave out a screech of pain as it plummeted to the ground. They had taken out a good chunk of the dark digimon's forces but they were still greatly outnumbered.

Yolei cracked open her eyes slightly to check on her friends. Sora and Garudamon were just fine. They were acting as a barricade to make sure none of the Devidramon tried to attack the solders again. Garudamon strafed back and forth blasting any Devidramon that strayed too far. Sora sat snuggly on her partner's shoulder, safe from harm.

Zoe was doing just fine; she easily out flied anything in the air. She dodged multiple 'Crimson Claw' attacks before doubling back and tearing through them with her talons. When the number of Devidramon chasing her became too much she would create a big gust of wind enhanced with energy blades flowing through it, which devastated the enemy.

The Devidramon all hovered in the air snarling viciously at them. Their eyes wondered over their three opponents, looking for the easiest target. The one without a human was too fast for them to catch, and the ultimate over powered them. That left the red eagle; with the human on his back he was handicapped. They needed a distraction, majority of the Devidramon dove at Zoe fangs and claws bared.

Zoe barley avoided a collision before she tore through the air with the horde of evil digimon close behind.

"Garudamon help her," Sora instructed. The ultimate digimon flew toward their companion in an attempt to stop the chase.

Now Yolei and Aquilamon were slightly separated from them, just as the Devidramon planned. There were five that were waiting on the sides for the perfect moment to strike. When Garudamon turned her back and Aquilamon still hadn't made a move they attacked.

They moved in from multiple directions. Seeing the oncoming assault Aquilamon dodged the first two as they breezed past him and Yolei. Yolei gave a shout of warning but it was too late. Too busy watching the third Devidramon, Aquilamon didn't see the one that came up on his side. The forth 'Crimson Claw' attack made contact with his side. Stunned from the attack Aquilamon was temporarily frozen in the air. Those few moments were fatal.

The Devidramon seized their chance and landed multiple attacks on Aquilamon. Luckily Yolei only suffered a few scratches but her partner was in bad shape. When the attacks ceased the five Devidramon hovered around them with triumphant grins. At every twinge of his muscles pain shot through Aquilamon's body. The pain was unbearable as he slowly lost consciousness.

Hearing Yolei's frightened screams Sora turned around as gasped. To her horror her friend was plummeting to the earth with an unconscious Hawkmon held tightly in her arms.

* * *

**Harbor**

As MegaSeadramon emerged from the water the group was drenched in ocean water. Curses spewed from Gabumon and Gatomon as they tried desperately to shake the water from their coats. With a roar Megaseadramon released a 'Mega Ice Blast' that created a huge wall of ice that blocked off all escape routes.

Looking around Ken couldn't find any openings in the wall of ice. "Looks like there's no escaping this time. "

"Then let's end this quickly," Matt said pulling out his digivce. The other chosen followed his example and the scene was covered in a field of white as the partner digimon reached their champion forms. The twins quickly followed their example, a large wolf and lion flanked their group.

While Gatomon digivolved to Angewomon, Stingmon stayed in his champion form but retained a purple hue surrounding him.

"Why doesn't Stingmon evolve like Gatomon does?" Ken asked.

"No time to figure that out now." Kouichi's muffled voice emanated from the black lion. Unlike the first time, they achieved a perfect sync. Ken successfully pushed aside his fear of the darkness and embraced Kouichi's power.

Two Ebidramon crawled out of the water to stand in front of MegaSeadramon. Six on two finally the odds seemed to be in their favor. Since Garurumon, Kouji, and Kouichi can't fly they worked on wiping out the Ebidramon while the others focused their attention on MegaSeadramon.

Garurumon decided to fight alone since the twins proved that they fight the best together. He snarled and snapped at the Ebidramon who growled back in return. Ebidramon charged forward in an attempt to land a 'Twin Scissors' attack. Garurumon was much more agile and easily dodged both claws before knocking it backwards with an attack of his own.

The twins were easily defeating their opponent. One twin would draw the Ebidramon's attention while the other launched an attack from behind. The enemy was quickly covered in wounds and panting heavily.

Stingmon, Angemon, and Angewoman were struggling in their fight with MetalSeadramon. They launched attack after attack with little effect. They could barely scratch MegaSeadramon's armor and tough hide. After another unsuccessful attack MegaSeadramon's horn began to glow a bright blue. He launched a 'Lightning Javelin' that was easily dodged the flying digimon.

But he wasn't aiming for them; his attack was going straight for Matt. Realizing that they weren't his real target Stingmon turned around and shouted a warning. Matt looked away from his partner's battle to see MegaSeadramon's attack closing in on him.

His eyes widened as the attack drew closer and closer. Suddenly he felt a sharp tug on the back of his shirt and was lifted off the ground. Kouji bounded away with Matt in his jaws as the lightning attack hit the ground.

Matt was panting, adrenaline pumping through his system. "Thanks a ton," he said as Kouji set him back on the ground. Kouji growled lowly in response before pouncing on the thrashing Ebidramon that Kouichi had managed to tie down with tendrils of dark energy. As Kouji bit down on the neck of the trapped digimon Kouichi blasted it with another shadow attack. The combined damage caused the Ebidramon to burst into particles of data.

Seeing its partner destroyed the Ebidramon that Garurumon was fighting limped off to the edge of the pier and slipped into the water to escape. Just one more opponent left.

MegaSeadramon was getting frustrated. The attacks were slowly wearing him down and he couldn't get a good hit on those irritating flies. Finally an attack connected. MegaSeadramon's tail shot out from the water and slammed into Angemon knocking him into the water.

Before he could dive into the water to finish off his prey an arrow made of light sunk into his left eye. He roared in pain and reared his head back, a fatal mistake. Stingmon's 'Spiking Strike' sunk deep into MegaSeadramon's exposed neck. The ultimate digimon writhed in pain his tail lashing back and forth creating large waves that crashed against the pier.

Angewomon flew down to the surface of the ocean and helped Angemon out of the water. MegaSeadramon turned to them with his good eye only to see all of them simultaneously attack him. In his weakened state he couldn't take on six opponents simultaneously. The protective metal covering his head cracked and crumbled and his skin body was torn to shreds before he burst into particles of data.

**A/N: I'd like to thank the people that reviewed, followed, or favorited, it's good encouragement for me too keep writing. When ever I sit down at my computer I end up playing video games instead. :P I was going to finish this a few days later but my beta convinced me to give you guys a Christmas present, so thank her :D. Hope you all enjoy the holidays!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Harbor**

With the battle won the partner digimon returned to their rookie forms and the twins shadow forms slowly dissipated.

"Everyone okay?" TK asked. Everyone nodded they were mostly tired not injured. The worst of the injuries was a small bruise on Patamon's side where MegaSeadramon caught him with his tail.

"We better get out of here before we get attacked again," Kari said. Now that MegaSeadramon was destroyed the ice wall that surrounded them began to melt. "Or before we get sick." Getting soaked to the bone then surrounded by ice did not make for the best conditions.

As if on cue, both Kouji and Gabumon let out loud sneezes. "I'm not getting sick." Kouji glared at them as they all turned to look at him. While Kouji denied it Gabumon raised a paw to his nose and sniffled loudly.

"Well we should all head back to the school and change anyway," Kouichi suggested. "We can't search the ocean, but we can guess that that's where Dragomon is hiding."

"He shouldn't be too far either. If he's supposed to take over this area it wouldn't make sense for him to escape into the deeper parts of the ocean. He would want to be near for when we come to reclaim the city," Patamon said.

Another sneeze from Gabumon signaled them it was time to go. Lucky for them they met no resistance as they left the harbor.

* * *

**TV Station**

The MadLeomon slowly stalked toward Davis, fangs bared, saliva slowly dripping from its large fangs. The other MadLeomon still had Veemon pinned as it watched what its companion was planning to do to the annoying human. Veemon struggled to break free from under the crushing weight of the other digmon. Terror gripped him as he was forced to watch as the rabid lion go closer and closer to his partner.

He yelled for his partner to runaway, but Davis stood his ground bravely. As long as he could hold the digimon's attention they wouldn't try to destroy Veemon.

Tai felt useless, he couldn't help Davis and the tables were beginning to turn in favor of the MadLeomon. Once they realized that close combat wasn't working on MetalGreymon they opted for long range attacks. Because of his size, MetalGreymon couldn't dodge all of them and was forced to try and block the energy blasts that were shaped like lion heads.

MetalGreymon growled in frustration as he took three attacks simultaneously and was forced to one knee. The attacks caused an explosion that he used as a cover to counter-attack with 'Giga Blaster'. The duo missiles destroyed a few of the MadLeomon but not all of them. Trying to help Davis, MetalGreymon turned and started heading toward the two MadLeomon that was threatening his friends. But before he could take even five steps two surviving MadLeomon jumped on him from behind and sank their claws into his back.

MetalGreymon backed up into the closest building crushing the digimon that clung to his back. Even if they were now severly injured, the two lions did their job and bought their comrades enough time to block off MetalGreymon from the humans. "Sorry guys I'm a bit busy."

Davis was on his own, he was afraid but he stayed rooted to the spot. Unexpectedly, Tai ran up to his friend and stood by him. They exchanged nervous glances but didn't speak a word. Tai would stand by his friend no matter the odds. MadLeomon stopped and cocked his head to the side confused. Was this human insane trying to get between him and his prey? Oh well two for the price of one.

MadLeomon raised a glowing claw over his head and smirked. He slashed at the two boys. Luckily the two of them had good reflexes from years of soccer and dove out of the way in time. Angered that such as easy kill slipped through his fingers MadLeomon snarled and whipped around to glare at Davis.

Davis was still lying on the ground from his first dive and was now completely helpless. MadLeomon pulled back a fist planning to annihilate Davis with a 'Beast-King Fallen Fist' attack but was tackled by what looked like a ball of fire. Takuya finally shook off his batch of digimon in time to save Davis.

Heart pounding in his chest from his close encounter with death, Davis remained on the ground as he watched Takuya wrestle with the lion digimon. The lion digimon tried to throw Takuya off while clawing in the direction Davis was in. But Takuya would force the digimon back to the ground and away from his friend.

Veemon let out a sigh of relief now that his partner was now out of danger. But they weren't safe for long. The MadLeomon that Takuya was previously fighting had finally caught up to him. In addition to the one that was trying to kill Davis, Takuya now had about five of the rabid digimon out to get him.

He was covered in deep slash marks from the exchange but he valiantly fought on. Veemon was beyond frustrated, if Takuya hadn't jumped in Davis would have been toast. Now Takuya was in trouble and he was still trapped by one of the MadLeomon, useless. Hot angry tears rolled down Veemon's face.

'Don't give up.'

Veemon's head shot up, he glanced around looking for the owner of the voice. Judging by Davis's expression he heard the weird voice too.

"Hey, I could use a hand here," Takuya said glancing at the squashed Veemon as he parried the 'Necrotoxin Claw' of one of the MadLeomon.

Veemon was confused. He really wanted to help but there wasn't anything he could do. Then that weird voice came again. 'Let's lend him a hand shall we?'

Suddenly Veemon's body was burning up. It felt like someone lit his insides on fire and it was slowly spreading to the outside. But it didn't hurt. In a weird way it was comforting. While this was going on, the screen of Davis's and Tai's digivices began to glow and symbol that looked sort of like the kanji for fire appeared on it in bright red.

"What's going on?" Davis asked, looking at his glowing digivice.

"I have no idea," Tai said. Now both Veemon and MetalGreymon were covered in a red glow. A roar echoed through the area. The two of them quickly turned to see Takuya surrounded in a tornado of flames.

There was another roar this time of pain. Veemon had burst into flames causing the MadLeomon that was pinning him down to be consumed by a giant fireball. When the flames died down, Flamedramon stood in Veemon's place. As the fire around him died, Flamedramon launched a 'Fire Rocket' at a MadLeomon that was trying to sneak around MetalGreymon. The attack was a direct hit causing the lion digimon to burst into a flurry of data.

"Whoa, Flamedramon wasn't that strong before," Davis gasped. More roars of pain drew their attention back to the tornado of flame. It was no longer in its stationary position, and was flying over the ground taking out multiple digimon.

The flames grew smaller and smaller until it finally dissipated when an armored leg shot out of it and slammed into the chest of a MadLeomon destroying it. Standing in the dying embers was a tall digimon in red and gold armor with a long blond mane.

Was that thing Takuya?

The new comer slowly clenched his hands as if making sure they function properly. Then a huge grin spread across his face as his jumped up and down happily. "Yes! Finally, I can spirit evolve!" Yup, it's Takuya.

"So who are you now? And how did Veemon armor digivolve?" Davis asked confused.

"I'm Agunimon now, and I'm guessing he evolved since he was asking us for a power boost," Agunimon said.

"How'd you do that?" Davis looked at his partner with questioning eyes.

"I was just wishing I could be of more help then this weird voice started talking to me," Flamedramon answered.

"The spirit of flame heard your pleas, and recognized you as our partner."

"That's so awesome," Davis cheered.

"I hate to crash your little party but we kind of need help," Tai interrupted. MetalGreymon received a power boost now that Takuya finally managed to spirit evolve but he was currently taking on the remaining MadLeomon alone.

"Oops," Takuya chuckled and scratched the back of his head slightly embarrassed. He and Flamedramon sprinted over to help MetalGreymon. The area was soon filled with blasted of fire and multiple explosions. Even with numbers on their side the MadLeomon had no chance.

Agunimon and Flamedramon dove straight into the fray delivering flamed punches and kicks to the enemy. While the two of them engaged in close-combat with the MadLeomon, MetalGreymon stayed back and attacked from a distance. His missiles eliminated the digimon that surrounded them.

After the fight the area was blackened and the pavement was littered with holes. The three digimon stood triumphantly in the center of all the chaos, with not a MadLeomon in sight.

"That was totally awesome!" Davis cheered, high-fiving Flamedramon followed by Takuya.

"Let's not celebrate too quickl, we need to go check on the girls," Tai said. The rest of the group nodded at him before they took off in search of the rest of their team.

* * *

**Another Part of the City**

Hearing their friend's frantic screams Garudamon turned around immediately and saw Yolei and Hawkmon falling from the sky. But they were too far away and falling much too fast. Zoe had all the Devidramon chasing her putting her in no position to help. Now that Hawkmon was put out of commission the Devidramon that attacked him joined the others in chasing Zoe. Yolei squeezed Hawkmon even tighter as the ground got even closer.

A million thoughts were running through Yolei's mind as the wind rushed past her. "_This is it,"_ she thought. Time seemed to slow down as their assumed death approached. Hold on it wasn't the time slowing down but their descent. Their fall slowed until the finally stopped, hovering in the air.

Hawkmon's eyes shot open suddenly wide awake. Both of them were confused as to why they were floating in the air. They looked around nervously, afraid to move in case they suddenly started falling again.

'Don't worry we got you.' A mixture of two voices resonated in their minds. They recognized one of the voices as Zoe's, but they had never heard the other voice before.

Looking closer a small patch of wind enhanced with a pinkish-purple hue was circling beneath them keeping them afloat.

"Yolei I feel all tingly," Hawkmon said. Before Yolei could respond Hawkmon jumped out of her arms. Of his own accord he evolved into Halsemon. He quickly scooped up his partner onto his back.

"Are you guys alright?" Sora asked as she and Garudamon reached their friends.

"Yeah, I think Zoe somehow caught us," Yolei answered with uncertainty. A bright flash in the sky drew their attention. Majority of the Devidramon surrounded the ball of light. They hissed and growled as they covered their eyes to block out the blinding light.

When the light faded a humanoid figure hovered in the sky. She had long purple hair and familiar looking butterfly wings. Without hesitation she whipped her hands around summoning multiple tornadoes. They struck the stunned Devidramon, knocking them out of the air or into the surrounding buildings.

The new arrival floated down towards the other two girls and their partners. "That was a close one wasn't it."

"Zoe?" Sora asked.

"Of course," Kazemon giggled and placed her hands on her hips. By now the Devidramon were shaking off Zoe's last attack and were rising back up into the skies. They circled the small ground growling viciously at them.

Without warning they struck. They shot towards them with fangs and claws bared. They faltered in their initial attack when a huge gust of wind was blasted at them. While they fluttered unevenly in the air they became easy targets for Garudamon and Halsemon.

The Devidramon were frustrated, their plan had worked well but somehow the red one recovered and now they were getting hit harder than ever. Their attacks did little to the ultimate digimon and the other two were small and swift making them difficult targets.

Zoe delivered painful kicks and blasts of energized wind, and Aquilamon and Garudamon used their best attacks on the Devidramon. Explosions colored the sky like fireworks as the attacks made contact with the Devidramon.

"Just a few more," Halsemon panted as he scanned the skies looking for the remaining Devidramon. Four of the Devidramon dived at them, only to be destroyed by a pair of well-aimed missiles. Turning to see where the attack came from they saw the rest of their little group rounding the corner.

"It's the guys!" Yolei cheered.

MetalGreymon joined them in the air and Agunimon and Flamedramon launched fireballs from the ground.

"Nice of you to join us," Garudamon said, when MetalGreymon hovered next to them.

"You guys seem to be doing a good job, mind if we clean up?" MetalGreymon joked. They shared a laugh before everyone got to work eliminating the last few Devidramon. Finally there were only three Devidramon left, they were collapsed on the ground gasping for breath and covered in scratches.

They decided to give Takuya the honors of finishing their opponent. He walked up to the injured digimon and brought his two fists together lighting them on fire. But before he could launch his attack a flurry of bats flew out from one of the allies. They fluttered around Takuya, biting where they could. It didn't hurt him but it broke his concentration so the flames died away. Some of them broke away to fly around the rest of the group providing a big enough distraction for the Devidramon to make their escape.

"What the hell is this!" Takuya viciously swatted the bats away from his face. Once the Devidramon were far enough away the bats rose up and followed them. They looked like an ominous black cloud flowing over the city.

"That settles it," Tai said, "Those were definitely Myotismon's bats, he's hiding around here. My guess is he's probably holed up in the TV station again, if the fog is something to go by."

Remembering all the past encounters they had with Myotismon, the chosen looked toward the foggy area with dread. Meanwhile Zoe slid next to Takuya.

"Looks like I'm not the only one to finally spirit evolve," she said. Takuya puffed out his chest and lifted his chin.

"Of course, and you should have seen the way we dealt with those guys, it was so easy," he boasted.

"That's how come you covered in scratches right," she teased. He puffed out his cheeks stubbornly and looked away making Zoe laugh. While they were joking around the conversation the chosen were having was much more serious.

"Do you think we can take him?" Sora asked.

"I'm not sure, we don't know how much power he retained," Tai said. They shared nervous glances. Myotismon in his ultimate stage they could handle but if he evolved into VemonMyotismon or even MaloMyotismon then they would have a problem.

"We can't DNAdigivolve either so how are we supposed to take him on?" Veemon asked. His question went unanswered.

"So now that we found the bad guys hide out what do we do now?" Takuya asked, once he and Zoe dedigivolved and came to join the rest of them.

"The best we can do now is head back to the others and come up with a plan. Don't forget the others may have found out something important too," Tai said. Together they headed back toward the school.

* * *

**School**

Tai's group finally made it back to the school. They were the last ones to arrive; everyone else finished their goals earlier than they did. When they opened the door to the computer lab everyone else was already there, sitting in various places around the room. Matt was furiously wiping Gabumon with a towel. As a result Gabumon looked like a puff ball with a horn on the top.

Veemon and Agumon burst into laughter when they saw the fluffy state of their friend. "It's not funny," Gabumon said through a stuck nose. Matt apologized to his partner and began wiping him down again, much more gently this time.

Realizing their friend was sick, Agumon and Veemon quickly apologized.

"He's not the only one that's sick," Tommy said slyly, nudging Kouji with his elbow.

"For the last time, I'm not sick," Kouji said angrily glaring at Tommy. Next to him Kouichi just rolled his eyes deciding it was better to not argue with his brother.

"He's been sneezing since he got here," Joe whispered to Tai.

"Now that everyone's here lets go over what we found out," Izzy began. Everyone grabbed a chair or just sat on the floor.

"Guess who can spirit evolve now," Takuya boasted. Zoe shook her head at her friend's cockiness but couldn't stop the smile on her face; she was just as ecstatic being able to spirit evolve.

"That would be me and JP," Tommy said.

"Really?" the rest of the warriors asked shocked.

"Yup, we got that room thing to work and Beetlemon and Kumamon appeared and picked their next partners," JP said, "Beetlemon picked Cody and Kumamon picked Mimi."

"She practically smothered Kumamon to death," Tommy whispered to Takuya and Zoe who covered their mouths in an attempt to hide their laughter.

"I'm guessing you to found your partners too," Izzy asked looking at Takuya and Zoe. They nodded enthusiastically. Takuya slung and arm around Davis's shoulder and Zoe and Yolei shared a smile.

"It was so awesome! I've never seen Flamedramon that strong before. And then there was all this fire and explosions they had no chance against us," Davis said, going into a detailed explanation of their battle.

"So that means the only people that aren't partnered up yet are Matt, TK, Kouji, and Kouichi," Izzy said counting the remaining people. Kouji took that opportunity to let out a large sneeze making everyone look at him.

"For the last time I'm not sick. The sneezes just come out of nowhere," Kouji grumbled. No one believed him and just thought he was being stubborn, except for one person.

"You're right you're not sick," Izzy said, "But Gabumon is." Everyone's eyes widened coming to the same conclusion that Izzy did.

"Looks like Lobomon already chose his partner. It makes sense since Gabumon is from the same family as AncientGarurumon," JP said.

Gabumon sniffled slightly, "Sorry I don't mean to share my cold."

"Don't worry about it, it's not your fault," Kouji shrugged.

"That means the last ones are TK and Kouichi," Tai said. There was an awkward silence as they looked between Kouichi and TK. Kouichi looked a bit nervous he knew that he wasn't TK's most favorite person. While TK just sat there with a blank face not making eye contact with anyone.

Tai decided to break the lingering silence, "So did you guys find anything at the harbor?"

"A bunch of aquatic digimon but nothing more than that," Matt answered, "It's only a guess but we think that Dragomon is hiding near the harbor somewhere. The enemy's seemed to get stronger as we neared the boat dock, so he should be around there."

"How did your search go Tai?" Kari asked.

"We ran into some soldiers in the streets, but we convinced them to evacuate after they were getting attacked by some of the digimon. That reminds me can you contact our parents tonight? I told those men to talk to our parents so they can contact us, that way we can try to convince their superiors to let us handle things here," Tai asked Izzy.

"No problem, I'm sure our parents want to know how we're fairing anyway."

Tai sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "We also found that Myotismon is hiding out at the TV station." The other chosen gasped. The rest of the warriors looked at them slightly confused. Zoe informed them that it was an old enemy of theirs.

"Are you sure?" Ken asked.

"Yes, we saw a flock of his bats and the buildings surrounding the TV station are surrounded by fog," Sora said describing the scene for them.

"Well, what do we do? Do we go after Myotismon or do we find Dragomon?" Agumon asked.

"I think we should go after Dragomon first," Kouichi spoke up, "He's already weakened from our last fight, we shouldn't waste this opportunity by letting him recover."

"Good idea, but we can't just run in there blindly we need a plan first," Ken said.

While the others began to come up with different strategies, TK stood up and silently left the room with Patamon in his arms. Only one person noticed him leaving. He walked slowly away from the school. The sun was beginning to set switching on the streetlights.

* * *

"Where are we going TK?" Patamon asked.

"Nowhere, I just need some fresh air and some time to reflect." He stopped about 15 minutes away from the school and sat on a bench under one of the streetlights. He held Patamon in his lap and sighed loudly.

"What's wrong?" Patamon asked. He knew what was bothering his partner but it would be good for him to talk it out.

"I'm supposed to be Kouichi's partner but it makes no sense, we have opposing elements."

"So do Palmon and Tommy, what kind of plant do you know likes the snow and ice." Patamon's example did make some sense but he still wasn't too convinced. "And what about Kouji, they're brothers." Okay he got him with that one.

"I guess I'm just nervous is all. I just got used to him being on the team and now we're paired together, I guess it's just a lot to take in," TK admitted.

"I hope I'm not interrupting,"

TK and Patamon jumped a little when Kouichi sat down on the bench next to them. They didn't hear or see him coming at all.

"What are you doing out here?" TK asked.

"I can be asking you the same thing. It's dangerous for someone to be out here on their own," Kouichi replied. TK just looked away, unable to answer. "Look I know you don't like me, but let's just work together just until all of this is over."

"It's not that I don't like you, your presence just makes me nervous. I know I'm just being prejudice because of your element, but I can't just over look that. I guess just being paired up with you was a bit of a shock," TK admitted.

Kouichi just smiled at him. "Thank you for being honest with me. I'd like a chance to prove to you that I can be trusted."

"I think I can do that," TK smiled back. This was the first time TK was actually talking to Kouichi one on one. Most of the time they were in groups and Kouji never seemed to leave his twin's side. Kouichi was a nice guy and didn't seem anything like the dark digimon that they fought against before. Maybe he was wrong about him after all.

"Well isn't this cute." An unknown voice interrupted their conversation. Patamon wiggled out of TK's grasp and hovered above the two boys looking around nervously.

"Something's coming," Patamon said still glancing around.

"My, aren't you perceptive," the voice taunted. The shadows in the area seemed to condense until it formed an armored figure. The new arrival stepped closer to them, the streetlight revealing black armor covered in multiple eye balls.

Kouichi's eyes widened and he stood up quickly, instantly recognizing their guest. "That's impossible you can't be here." Kouichi still had his spirits so how was Duskmon here? What did he want?

"You know this guy?" TK asked.

"Oh he knows me very well. I am the true spirit of darkness not that pathetic Löweemon," Duskmon spat out his counterpart's name in disgust. TK looked back and forth between them. Was this guy Kouichi's old partner or something? Kouichi certainly didn't look happy to see him.

"What are you doing here?" Kouichi glared at the armored digimon. TK and Patamon were a bit shocked that the first time they heard the normally soft-hearted boy talk like that.

"I was asked to lead some pathetic little group of weaklings to rampage throughout the city. But I had much better things to do," Duskmon said.

"You were the one who was supposed to be leading that group that didn't have a general," Patamon gasped.

"Lucemon thinks he can control me," Duskmon chuckled, "But I take orders from no one. I'm merely here for one thing, revenge." His eyes focused on Kouichi and he smirked. "So where is your dear brother?"

**A/N: Thanks as always for reviewing and favoriting and all that. My beta pointed out that I have a lot of cliffhangers so I'm going to add suspense to this stories genre. Cliffys are fun to write and it keeps you readers hooked so you will come back and read the rest XP. Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

******A/N: I hope you guys like the fight scenes as much as I love writing them. Enjoy :D**

**At the School**

"That sounds like it would actually work," Takuya said impressed. They were all sitting around the computer lab trading ideas and strategies on how best to take on Dragomon.

"I've been known to come up with a few good ideas," Tai bragged making Matt roll his eyes.

"So, we still have the problem about us not being able to DNAdigivolve," Veemon brought up.

"Actually, we may have been able to solve that," Izzy said. Veemon cheered and ran over to hug Izzy, making the boy chuckle a little. "I was talking with Beetlemon and he mentioned something about each warrior having two spirits and the ability to merge them together." He looked over at JP for confirmation.

"Only Takuya and Kouji have actually fusion evolved, but in theory all of us should have the ability to do so. Beetlemon said that if we give up that power you guys should be able to DNAdigivolve or whatever it's called," JP said.

"So I won't be able to evolve into Aldamon?" Takuya asked receiving a shake of the head from JP. "That sucks!"

"Izzy and I were disguising it, and we think it would be better for them to evolve further since we will still get stronger with them, and the rest of us have never fusion evolved before anyway so we're not sure if we can at all," JP explained.

"Fine," Takuya gave in.

"When should we start the attack?" Armadillomon asked excitedly from beneath Cody's chair.

"Maybe the day after tomorrow, just to make sure everyone is well rested," Joe suggested.

"What?!" Gomamon whined, "We're totally fine! We don't need to wait that long. In fact let's go right now!" Gomamon was a bit riled from hearing his friend's battle stories and not getting any action himself.

Gatomon stepped in front of him and put her paw directly in front of Gomamon's face immediately halting his march out the door. "You may be fit to go, but I wouldn't mind a cat nap." The other partner digimon agreed, expressing how tired they were.

"Fine," Gomamon huffed and plopped down next to Joe. Joe laughed lightly at his partner's antics, gently patting his head.

They continued to discuss different battle tactics and strategies. Kouji was leaning against the farther wall when he felt a chill run down his spine. Unsure of where the feeling came from, he pulled his jacket closer to himself. Suddenly Kari shot up in her chair and gasped, drawing everyone's attention.

"What's wrong?" Tai asked his sister worriedly.

"Something bad is coming, something dark." Kari closed her eyes tightly and wrapped her arms around herself. Now Kouji was sure something was definitely wrong. Glancing around the room Kouji realized that they were two people short.

"Shit!" Kouji pushed past a few people and digimon and bolted out the door.

"What's his problem?" Yolei glared at Kouji being one of the people he shoved out of his way.

"Something's wrong," Kari said quietly, "Kouji must have felt whatever I did."

"Kouichi's not here!" Zoe exclaimed, after looking around the room she realized they were a few kids short. That would also explain Kouji's freak out.

"Neither is TK," Matt said jumping to his feet. Everyone got up and was getting ready to search for their friends. Looking out the window they could see Kouji already in his shadow from sprinting off to some unknown location.

"Hurry let's go!" Takuya shouted rushing out the door followed by the rest of the group.

* * *

**With TK and Kouichi**

Duskmon unsheathed both of his red curved blades and casually stepped closer to the boys. "Rather than wasting my time searching for him I can just kill you, then he would come straight to me," he taunted, "Maybe I can just wipe out all of your friends that try get in the way too."

"That's if you can kill me first," Kouichi stepped forward angrily; his shadow form's dark aura began to form around him.

"We'll help too." TK stepped up next to him and Patamon's body glowed from the light of Digivolution. TK suddenly felt some sort of strange power flowing into him. Was this what the others were talking about?

Kouichi glanced at TK, "Don't worry everything's going to be fine," he said, as if he could sense TK's wariness. TK nodded at him and embraced the power that began to fill him up. The shadows completely wrapped around Kouichi forming a snarling black lion. Rather than Angemon appearing, TK was rather shocked to see MangaAngemon standing there instead.

"Interesting, at least you're going to provide me some entertainment," Duskmon jeered. He charged at them with his blades crossed forming an X. MagnaAngemon caught Duskmon's swords with his glowing purple one. They both put all their strength in trying to force the other back, testing the others power. MagnaAngemon grunted as he was slowly getting pushed back.

Kouichi chose that time to intervene, charging at Duskmon. But Duskmon was expecting him and jumped into the air avoiding the collision. From the air he launched a 'Deadly Gaze' at the pair. Both of them managed to get out of the way in time causing the red beams of light to strike the ground. When Duskmon landed, he glared at the two of them. Maybe this was going to be a little harder than he thought it would be.

Kouichi leaped at the Duskmon, trying to slash at him with glowing claws, while MagnaAngemon dove at him trying to impale him with his sword. Duskmon was forced on the defensive, parrying MagnaAngemon's attacks while trying to dodge Kouichi's. Duskmon slammed his shoulder into MagnaAngemon's chest, knocking the winded angel down. He quickly turned around in time to see the black lion closing in on him.

He raised an armored arm in defense as Kouichi's fanged clamped shut on it. He then slammed his fist into the lion's muzzle forcing him to release his hold. With the two of them out of the way for a few moments he turned his gaze to TK.

TK's eyes widened in fear as Duskmon ran at him. Duskmon had decided to take the opportunity to eliminate TK. Duskmon raised his blade and slashed at him.

TK raised his arms trying to protect himself and shut his eyes tight. He waited for the blade to slice him in half, but it didn't come. Slowly opening his eyes he saw MagnaAngemon standing before him. His partner had bravely taken the attack for him.

The angel digimon sank to one knee, a deep gash stretched across his torso. The feathers on his wings were crumpled and slowly floating to the ground. The wound was too much, causing him to dedigivolve into Patamon. Patamon curled tightly into a ball whimpering in pain.

TK's mind instantly went back to the fight they had with Devimon, where his partner was destroyed. It was the exact same thing as before. Patamon would give his life for TK as many times as he could but TK was powerless to help him.

Duskmon let out a merciless laugh, "Weakling! I knew if I targeted you one of these imbeciles would blindly try to protect you. Too easy." TK completely ignored the evil digimon and went over to his partner. He knelt next to him and carefully picking him up trying not to disturb his wounds.

Duskmon raised his swords to attack again, but before Duskmon could attack, Kouichi hit him with a body slam trying to get some space between them. TK sat there, oblivious to what was happening around him. Both of them landed with heavy thumps on the ground. It took a moment for them to Kouichi and Duskmon exchanged blows, but Duskmon was faster and stronger than he was. TK was dragged out of his stupor when Kouichi was slammed into the ground a few feet in front of him.

Duskmon was panting slightly but was otherwise unharmed while Kouichi sported multiple cuts and bruises. Even if he was hurt, Kouichi, still wobbled to his feet to stand protectively in front of TK. TK was a bit stunned by Kouichi's desire to protect him but now he was sure he had made a wrong assumption about him before. Kouichi was darkness yes, but he wasn't evil. This Duskmon character, on the other hand, certainly was.

Gently cradling the unconscious Patamon in one arm and gripping his digivice in the other, TK stood up and glared at Duskmon. Okay so how did the other kids do this? How did they give their power to the warriors? He gripped his digivice tight and willed whatever kind of power that rests within himself into Kouichi. Slowly he began to feel a slight tugging sensation, like something was trying to pull out his very essence. He was expecting it, so he wasn't startled when a deep voice spoke to him.

'Thank you.'

The shadows built up around Kouichi, obscuring the lion's form. Duskmon sensed what was happening and raising his blade to strike. When he brought it down, instead of the sound of cutting flesh there was a clang of metal on metal.

The shadows fell away revealing an armored warrior in black and gold lion themed armor. Duskmon's sword was being blocked by an almost translucent shield that looked similar to a lion's face. Kouichi, now Löweemon, swung his shield causing Duskmon to stumble slightly. Löweemon gripped his lance tightly and thrust it forward. His lance grazed Duskmon's side making him hiss in pain.

Löwemon's shield faded away as he held his weaponin both hands, he would need to be more aggressive if he wanted to win. Duskmon quickly shook off the small blow and raised his dual swords. "Finally, now it gets interesting," he sneered.

TK watched as the two dark digimon clashed. Small sparks were created from where their weapons met. Duskmon launched a flurry of attacks one after another. Expecting an assault like that Löweemon parried every attack and lashed out whenever there was a slight pause in Duskmon's attacks. After a while both of them began to tire, as they got sloppier more attacks began to connect with their target.

With a powerful swing of his lance, Löweemon knocked Duskmon to the ground. TK cheered quietly on the sidelines as Duskmon slowly rose to his feet. For the first time in the fight Duskmon broke eye contact with Kouichi to stare off down the street. "I was beginning to wonder if you would ever show up."

His comment confused TK and Kouichi. Just who was he talking to? Then Kouji, still in his shadow form, skid around the corner and immediately came to a stop when he saw Duskmon. "What are you doing here?" Kouji growled.

"Didn't you miss me? I certainly missed you?" Duskmon smirked. Kouji just glared at him and walked toward his brother. "Well this seems a bit unfair, two on one." Duskmon's eyes moved between the twins.

"I think I should make the odds a bit more even." A massive amount of dark energy began to gather around Duskmon. An eerie feeling washed over the twins making them jump back to put more distance between them and the pulsing orb of dark energy that formed where Duskmon used to be standing.

After a few moments the orb rose into the air and small cracks started to form. Those small cracks spread to cover the entire surface. Unable to retain the being inside of it the orb shattered! A large bird creature hovered in the sky, massive wings kicked up small dirt puffs and menacing talons glinted in the light from the streetlights.

Velgemon let out a loud roar that rattled the bones of his opponents. Velgemon dove toward the twins who easily jumped out of the way. Kouichi tried to hit him with a few 'Shadow Meteor' attacks, but Velgemon was a very agile flyer and easily evaded them. Not having any ranged attacks, Kouji just kept his eyes locked on their opponent, his tail lashing back in forth in frustration.

When Velgemon tried to dive bomb them again Kouji leapt at him, his jaws clamping onto the wing of the bird digimon. Velgemon roared in pain before his middle eye began to glow. Unable to flap one wing the two of them began falling. Before they could hit the ground, Velgemon turned his head hitting Kouji with a 'Dark Vortex'. The force of the attack dislodged Kouji from his wing making him crash to the ground, a small crater formed where he landed. Velgemon was able to pull up from his fall just in time to avoid crashing into the ground.

While this was going on Löwemon was afraid to launch any long-ranged attacks in case he hit his brother. After Kouji hit the ground he ran over to make sure he was okay. Kouji was fine; he stood up and shook himself before leaping out of the small indentation in the ground. Now that his brother was okay Löwemon began launching more attacks at Velgemon.

Velgemon was getting fed up with them. Destroying the both of them was proving a bit harder than he thought it would. Looking at their positioning from the sky Velgemon smiled. They were bunched together, perfect.

He swooped down toward them but circled around them instead of trying for a direct attack. Expecting him to fly at them not away from them, the twins were slightly confused. The very tip of his wing skimmed over the ground leaving a deep crack in his wake. Watching as Velgemon circled them; the twin's eyes widened recognizing his most devastating attack, 'Dark Obliteration'.

TK was confused as to what was going on. Why was he just circling them? Just a moment ago he was extremely aggressive, what happened? As Velgemon flapped his wings to gain some altitude, walls started protruding from the ground trying to trap them inside! Kouji immediately started sprinting toward the crevice at the side of the circle. He leapt though the gap and turned around to check to make sure his brother was safe.

Kouichi had run over and picked up a confused TK, who was still holding Patamon, before he ran for the circles edge. "What's happening?" TK shouted. Kouichi ignored him and focused on getting the two of them out of the circle before it closed completely.

As soon as Kouichi and TK made it out the four of them put as much distance as possible between them and the strange dome. Once the twins dubbed it was safe and had a good amount of space between them and the doom they stopped to catch their breath.

"What is-" TK began to ask. But before he could finish his question the dome shut. An instant later the entire dome began to glow red and exploded. The explosion shook the ground knocking all of them off their feet.

When the earth stopped shaking TK looked up and gasped. Where the dome used to be was now a huge hole in the ground. Everything inside the walls had been annihilated.

While they were recovering from the explosion Velgemon struck! He came from behind them and caught Kouji in his talons. The razor sharp talons dug deep into Kouji's body making him scream in pain. Velgemon tossed him to the side making him crash into the side of a building.

"Kouji!" Kouichi and TK shouted. Kouji was bleeding but he still rose to his feet refusing to stop fighting. Velgemon laughed at them as he floated in the air. They may have him outnumbered but he was still stronger than they were. He would get his revenge.

Kouichi knew that he and Kouji were overpowered. Besides Kouji already being hurt, without Kari or Matt around he couldn't spirit evolve, handicapping him even more. It was amazing that he could keep up his shadow form all on his own. He needed more strength if they wanted to destroy Velgemon. He closed his eyes and looked deeper into himself.

TK jumped and almost dropped Patamon when a loud roar reverberated within his very soul. The slight pull he felt from Kouichi spirit evolving increased. Instead of a slight tugging it was now a sharp pull. It continued to suck the energy out of him. Even Patamon moaned slightly and began to struggle in his sleep.

The shadows began to creep in again, this time wrapping around Kouichi. Then a sharp pain erupted throughout TK's body. Unknowingly he was feeling Kouichi's pain as his body began to warp into his beast spirit. Kouichi shut his eyes tightly as he began his evolution. His flesh and bones stretched and reshaped themselves.

TK crumpled back to the ground clutching Patamon tightly to his chest. He heard another roar, but this time it came from the area around him and not from in his head. The shadows around Kouichi slowly dissipated, an armored lion now stood in his place. TK could still feel the pulling of energy and it didn't feel like it was going to stop anytime soon.

JagerLöweemon let out another loud roar. From the skies Velgemon narrowed his eyes sizing up his opponent. Choosing to be cautious he attacked from afar launching multiple beams of red energy at his opponent below. JagerLöweemon returned fire, releasing dark energy blasts of his own. Some of the attacks collided in mid air causing explosions and smoke to litter the sky. All other attacks were dodged leaving the two at a stalemate.

Kouji had recovered slightly by now and limped over to TK. Every step jarred his wounds, but he managed to maintain his shadow form. His brother was doing alright for now and there was nothing much he could do while Velgemon was in the sky. He noticed that TK was sitting on the ground shaking slightly.

"What's wrong?" Kouji asked.

"Something is sapping my energy, and when Kouichi turned into that it felt like my body was being torn apart from the outside," TK replied. Even if he hadn't physically done anything TK was starting to breath heavily.

"He beast spirit evolved, it's a stronger evolution but the process is a painful and it requires a lot more energy to do so," Kouji explained, "We can go into more detail later now's not the time."

Velgemon was fed up with long range attacks and swooped down and tried to impale Kouichi with his talons. Luckily Kouichi was fast enough to dodge and counter attack. The 'Ebony Blast' hit the bird digimon in the back causing him to lose his balance and crash into the pavement.

Velgemon shook himself and stood up and glared at Kouichi, only to see that he was covered in shadows. The shadows continued to grow around him forming a much larger lion. With a roar JagerLöweemon charged toward Velgemon. The bird digimon flapped his wings to lift off into the sky to get out of range of Kouichi's next attack.

But he wasn't fast enough. JagerLöweemon's 'Dark Master' attack struck him in the chest. Vegelmon roared in pain as he felt the shadow enhanced claws of his opponent tear through his torso. JagerLöweemon burst through Velgemon's body and skid to a halt, his claws creating deep indentations in the ground as he landed.

There was a gaping hole in Velgemon's chest where Kouichi had struck him. Slowly the hole began expanding until Velgemon completely disintegrated and was no more.

"You did it!" TK cheered. But rather than celebrating JagerLöweemon turned toward them and growled. TK shivered as he looked into his blood red eyes. "Kouichi?"

"Stay back," Kouji commanded pushing past TK to stand in front of him.

"What's wrong with him?" TK asked.

"He can't control his beast spirit," Kouji said, "Strange he never had any problems back in the Digital World." TK had to strain to hear the last part. Then Kouichi pounced at them. Kouji met him in midair stopping his attack. Kouichi snarled and snapped at his brother while Kouji did his best to keep Kouichi occupied without actually hurting him. The two of them wrestled on the ground until Kouji managed thrust his hind legs into JagerLöweemon's stomach throwing him off.

Once he hit the ground again JagerLöweemon rolled over and opened his jaws as dark energy gathered in it. Kouji was too close to have any time to dodge and was hit dead on. As he was blasted back his shadow form disappeared and he landed hard on the ground in his human form.

Kouji did his best to shake of the attack and stood back up; he formed two swords of light and held them in a defensive position in front of himself. TK began shouting at him to run away, but Kouji didn't move. He wasn't afraid, his face was absolutely blank. He knew his brother was still in there, overwhelmed by the beast spirit of darkness.

JagerLöweemon growled and slowly began walking toward Kouji. Multiple flashes of different colored energy slammed into his side knocking him away from his brother. Kouji and TK looked in the direction that the attacks came from. The rest of the group had finally arrived. The rookie digimon had all simultaneously attacked JagerLöweemon.

"Get ready guys," Tai commanded pulling out his digivice, the rest of the chosen following his lead.

"No don't!" Zoe shouted standing in front of them; her arm's spread out blocking their way. Takuya ran past her to talk to Kouji, who was looking at his brother as he recovered from the attack.

"Why? TK and Kouji are in trouble." Sora asked.

Zoe bit her lip nervously, how was she going to explain this one? "So Kouichi can't control his spirit huh?" Takuya's voice was loud enough for all of them to hear. Tommy and Zoe sighed and shook their heads and JP started to massage his temples in frustration with Takuya's lack of tact.

"That's Kouichi?" Ken asked.

By then TK had walked over to them. "He turned into that thing when the huge bird digimon attacked us," TK began to explain, "Then all of a sudden he lost it and started attacking Kouji." They gasped when they saw Patamon's condition.

"What happened to Patamon? Is he going to be okay?" Palmon asked.

"He saved me," TK answered, "And, I don't know."

"How do you feel?" JP asked TK.

"Me? Well truthfully I'm exhausted. When Kouichi first spirit evolved I felt that energy sharing that you guys were talking about, but then when he changed into that form it began to feel like he's trying to suck me dry."

"The energy of only two people can't support the beast spirit," JP concluded, "The beast spirits are much harder to control and without enough power it's like trying to manage a dog with a piece of floss rather than a leash."

"But Wormmon and I are here now can't he just use some of our strength to control it?" Over the short amount of time he got to know Kouichi pretty well and was very worried for him.

"I don't think so, if not it would have already happened," Tommy said.

"He's coming!" Agumon warned them. JagerLöweemon was back up and staring at the new comers trying to decide how to deal with them.

"Let us take care of him," Kouji said not taking his eyes off his brother. The rest of the warriors ran over to where Takuya and Kouji were standing. Each of the chosen's digivices began to glow with the warriors symbols. Energy surrounded each of the warriors as they began to spirit evolve. JagerLöweemon snarled at his new opponents.

* * *

Kouichi was sitting on the ground with his legs pulled to his chest and with his arms wrapped around them. He had his head down wresting on his knees. He shivered slightly; there was a constant throbbing pain that wracked his body. He was also surrounded by darkness but that didn't bother him much.

His mind was fuzzy making it difficult for him to focus on a single thought. As he lifted his head there was a bright light in front of him. The sudden appearance of the bright object hurt his eyes making him put his head back down.

_Leave me alone_

After a few moments the light faded away and went out. With the light gone his pain in his eyes subsided, but now loneliness began to sink in. The light had hurt but at least he wasn't alone.

_Come back_

_Where is everyone?_

Then more lights appeared. There were five of them all a different color. The five lights began to circle around him. They seemed familiar but he couldn't remember. He could hear voices but couldn't make them out. They were quiet and muffled.

The brightness of the lights hurt his eyes, but at the same time they comforted him. He wasn't alone anymore.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**A/N: This chapter was really hard for me to write but I think it came out pretty well. Let me know what you guys think of it. Enjoy! :)**

The chosen children watched anxiously as the battle between JagerLöweemon and the other warriors began. JagerLöweemon would swipe at them and launch attacks made up of black energy. The other warriors were hesitant to attack their friend and chose to dodge most of his attacks instead. If they dodged his long-range attacks there was a chance that it would hit the chosen, so Kumamon had his gun ready to intercept any attacks he sent at them.

Whenever JagerLöweemon used his 'Ebony Blast', Kumamon would counter with his 'Blizzard Blaster'. The attacks would meet in midair and explode. JagerLöweemon's attacks were stronger allowing a few of his attacks to continue on past the warriors, but luckily the attacks didn't hit anyone.

"C'mon Kouichi it's us," Zoe tried to get through to their friend. The others tried to reason with him too, but nothing seemed to get through to him. The only thing they got in response was low growls.

JagerLöweemon lunged and snapped at Agunimon, his jaws missing by a few inches. Takuya panicked and launched a 'Pyro Punch' which hit him square in the face. JagerLöweemon was blown back a few feet before he shook himself, unharmed.

"Be careful!" Kouji scolded, "You could have hurt him."

"He could have torn my arm off! What do you expect?!" Takuya shouted back. This was way harder than trying to fight some evil digimon. They had to figure out a way to stop Kouichi without seriously hurting him.

It went on like this for a while, JagerLöweemon mindlessly attacked them, and the warriors did their best to defend themselves.

"This isn't getting them anywhere," Matt groaned as he watched them fight.

"They're too afraid to fight with him, but who can blame them?" Tai came up next to his friend, "We were the same, when we had to fight MetalGreymon that one time." Ken looked away ashamed, but no one blamed him for it.

"But in order for us to get him back we had to use force," Davis said.

"The way they want to handle this is their choice not ours," Izzy said not taking his eyes off the battle once. The others agreed and went back to watching the battle nervously.

Takuya was starting to get frustrated in their lack of progress. Looking at his team they were more or less okay, a few scratches here and there but those were minor. Zoe looked very uncomfortable fighting JagerLöweemon; she would blast him with gusts of wind to keep in at a safe distance but her attacks were harmless. JP and Tommy were in similar positions. They kept their distance and only attacked if absolutely necessary. And Kouji may have had his swords drawn, but that didn't mean he was going to use them.

JagerLöweemon attacked them with another barrage of dark energy. Kumamon and Beetlemon were quick to counter-attack. The collision of abilities caused a small smokescreen. JagerLöweemon charged through the smoke and pounced on Beetlemon. JP was caught off guard; he wasn't expecting a straight forward attack like that.

Beetlemon was pinned to the pavement with one of JagerLöweemon's paws pressing firmly on his chest. The others were stunned, unsure of how to react. If they attacked now, they could hurt both their friends, but if they hesitated JP could seriously get hurt. But the moment of hesitation was long enough for the fight to take a horrible turn.

JagerLöweemon lunged forward fangs heading straight for Beetlemon's head. Cries of warning came from the fellow warriors as well as the chosen. Beetlemon shut his eyes tight waiting for the pain to come. But it didn't, a few more seconds past, but still nothing. He opened his eyes slightly to see JagerLöweemon's jaws clamped shut a few inches from his face.

Everyone was silent, afraid to make any sudden movements or noise. Some of the girls stopped mid gasp, their hands raised to their mouths, eyes wide. Slowly Jageröweemon pulled back, lifting his paw off of Beetlemon's chest and taking a few steps backward. He growled lowly to himself and shook his head violently.

Beetlemon quickly scrambled away before Kouichi lost what little control he had and tore his head off. With a final shake of his head JagerLöweemon looked back up and them and glared. Kouichi was gone again but at least he managed to save his friend.

"That was a little too close," JP panted.

"What do we do?" Tommy asked. No one answered him; they didn't know the answer themselves.

Then the red crystals on JagerLöweemon began to glow, shadows began to build up around him as he prepared his next attack. All the warriors knew what was coming and it wasn't good.

"We don't have a choice. If we don't stop him now were done," Takuya said as he raised his fists fire erupting from his gauntlets. The others followed his example summoning their elements and getting ready to attack. Kouji was the last to move, the laser attached to his arm began glowing as he aimed it at his brother.

The shadows condensed to form a larger lion, his 'Dark Master' attack now ready. With a last snarl he launched himself at his friends.

"I'm sorry." The same thought ran through all of the warrior's heads as they began their attack.

The warriors simultaneously released their attacks at JagerLöweemon. The attacks collided with him creating a large explosion. Everyone covered their eyes to protect themselves from the blast. A fearful silence hung in the air as the dust and smoke began to settle.

JagerLöweemon's form was gone, replaced with Kouichi's unconscious body. Immediately the rest of the warriors reverted to their human forms and ran over to him.

"Is he okay?" Zoe asked kneeling down.

"He looks okay, just unconscious," Tommy said. Kouji pushed past his friends and went to pick up his brother. But JP put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"I got him. You don't look too good yourself." JP pointed at the puncture wounds on Kouji's side from Velgemon's talons. The clothes around them were stained in blood but the cuts have already begun closing. Kouji gave a small nod and stepped away for JP to pick up his brother.

When Kouichi was firmly secured on JP's back they walked toward the chosen children who were waiting patiently for them.

"Is he alright?" Sora asked as they reached them.

"We think so, he just needs to rest," Zoe said. With that said, they all headed back to school. The walk back was filled with a dull silence.

* * *

**At the School**

Once they reached the school they placed Kouichi on one of the beds in the girl's room before gathering in the computer room. With all the excitement out of the way for the night Izzy opened his laptop and tried to make contact with their parents. The signal got through. They recapped what happened to them and began to tell them what their parents could do for them. The parents agreed to try and handle the military problem for them.

With that settled, they spent the rest of the time just reassuring their parents that they were okay.

Joe busied himself with helping out the ones that received the worst injuries, namely Patamon and Kouji. After cleaning Patamon's wound he put a piece of thick gauze on it before wrapping it. The bandage wrapped around his entire body so he looked similar to a mummy.

Kouji was a bit more difficult to treat. He kept saying that Joe should take a look at Kouichi instead and that he was fine. After a few minutes of arguing Kouji gave in and let Joe treat him after he promised to check on Kouichi was soon as he finished bandaging Kouji. The cuts were mostly healed over but small bandages were applied to make sure it was kept clean to avoid infection.

When Joe was finished he headed over to the next room with Kouji right behind him. Opening the door to the girl's room both of them were shocked to see TK and Patamon sitting near the still unconscious Kouichi. No one noticed the two of them sneak off while Joe was fussing over Kouji.

Joe walked over to Kouichi and began checking his pulse and his breathing along with other vitals. "From what I can tell he's alright," he tried to reassure the other two boys.

"What are you doing here?" Kouji asked rather rudely.

"Well, I was worried about him," TK said honestly. Both Joe and Kouji looked a bit surprised. "I realized that I was wrong about him. He tried really hard to protect me from that guy who attacked us."

"He's going to be happy to hear that." Kouji said. TK heard the slightly sarcastic tone that Kouji's voice held, but he chose to ignore it as he looked back at Kouichi.

"So exactly attacked you guys?" Joe asked. TK wasn't sure who that digimon was. The only thing he did know was that he was some past enemy of the warriors that apparently had some kind of grudge against the twins.

Kouji hated talking about Duskmon, much less to people who he barely learned to trust. He ignored Joe's question and turned away from them. Lucky for him Kouichi began to wake up.

A small movement from the bed caught their eye. Kouichi shifted in the bed disturbing the blanket that covered him. He groaned slightly and raised his hand to rub the grogginess out of his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Joe asked.

"Kind of like I got run over by a truck," Kouichi mumbled, his voice was a bit rough probably from all the growling and roaring. As he slowly began to awaken, he began to remember the fight with Duskmon. He gasped and immediately sat up.

"It's alright, relax." Kouji put his hand on his brother's shoulder to try to calm him down.

"The battle, how did it go?" Kouichi asked. "My memory is all fuzzy, I can't remember anything after I tried to beast spirit evolve." Joe and TK shared worried looks. Should they just tell him what happened or give him the bad news slowly?

"You beat Velgemon without too much problem, but you lost it after that," Kouji said rather bluntly. Apparently Kouji wanted to get it over with quickly. Kouichi breathed a sigh of relief hearing that Velgemon was destroyed, but what did Kouji mean by lost it?

"I don't understand," Kouichi said. He tried hard to remember what happened but all he could come up with was a huge blur mixed in with flashes of light.

"You didn't have control of your beast spirit."

Kouichi's eyes widened, "What?! Is everyone okay? No one got hurt did they?"

"Everyone's alright. You gave JP quite a scare when you tackled him but no harm done." Even with Kouji trying to reassure him the others could see the depression slowly sinking in. Kouichi stared down into his lap his shoulders slumping a little.

"Hey, don't worry everyone's safe that's what counts," Patamon spoke up for the first time.

"I guess," Kouichi mumbled but he kept his eyes down, his mood not improving. No one said anything after that. Kouji knew that it wasn't the disappointment of misusing his beast spirit that upset him, but the fact that he had attacked his friends. It was almost like being Duskmon all over again. Kouji wanted to comfort him but not in front of the others, the Duskmon incident is a private matter.

The door slowly opened, Zoe sticking her head in. "Hey, your awake, how are you feeling?" she asked. She opened the door completely and walked into the room. The rest of the warriors, Sora, Tai, Izzy, Kari and their partners followed her. Everyone else stayed out in the hall way, not wanting to crowd the people in the room.

"I should be asking you that," Kouichi said, looking away from them.

"We're all perfectly fine, don't sweat it buddy," Takuya smiled.

"We think that you lost control because while you tried to evolve you only had TK with you," Izzy began to explain their theory, "With only one of us to help you, your body can't support the beast spirit."

"Think of it as a learning experience, now we know not to try that on our own," JP placed a supportive hand on Kouichi's shoulder. "No hard feelings we all know you wouldn't do anything like that on purpose."

Kouichi gave a small smile to his friends and began to get out of bed. "Thanks guys. I think I'm going to go get some fresh air. I promise not to go far." At first they tried to get him to lie back down but he reassured his friends that he wasn't hurt, just a little tired. He smiled at the chosen as he walked past them down the hall.

Kouji waited a few seconds before silently following his brother. His twin may have been smiling but he knew it was just a cover. Kouichi was still distressed about what had happened and didn't want all the attention to be focused on him.

"He looked really upset," Zoe said sadly.

"Really? He was smiling as he walked out." Veemon said.

"He smiled because he doesn't want us to worry," Tommy said

"What made Kouichi try to beast spirit evolve anyway?" Takuya asked, looking toward TK for an answer.

"I went out for a walk to clear my head a little and had a small talk with Kouichi," TK began, "Everything was fine till this weird digimon showed up. He said he was the missing leader of that other group we fought with the Ceberumon and Snimon in it. Apparently he knew Kouichi and wanted to kill Kouji to get revenge on him or something." Eyes widened and small gasps escaped.

"Did you get his name?" Tai asked. TK was silent for a little while, going over the battle in his head again.

"I think Kouichi called him Duskmon."

"WHAT!" The warriors shouted, startling the chosen and their partners. Was this guy seriously that bad for them all to freak out about it? But TK and the twins beat him by themselves; he couldn't be that big a deal.

"Are you positive it was him?" Takuya asked franticly, grabbing TK by his shoulders shaking him slightly. "Creepy looking guy in black armor covered in giant eyeballs."

"Yeah, that sounds like him," TK said a little nervously. Takuya slowly released his shoulders and took a few steps backwards. "But he was destroyed so no big deal right?" The warriors ignored him.

"His presence was probably what Kouji and Kari felt." Zoe said

"No wonder he's been so down, I mean it took him so long for him to forgive himself the first time he attacked us, and then Duskmon."

"He attacked you before?" Matt asked. Realizing what he said, Tommy covered his mouth with both hands trying to cover up for his mistake. "Look I know this is personal, but if there is something that might cause a problem for all of us in the future I think we have a right to know about it. If we're all going to be working together it's best to share all of our strengths and weaknesses in order to support each other sufficiently."

"He's got a point, and they were going to find out about it sooner or later anyway," JP shrugged, "We can just give you the fast version."

Takuya sighed loudly, "And you can deal with Kouji after he finds out we told them." JP nodded, he could handle a few minutes of Kouji raging at him.

Takuya scratched his head wondering where to begin. "Well, don't hold this against him it really wasn't his fault." The chosen agreed to listen to the whole story before saying anything. "When we first met Kouichi in the Digital World he was actually on the enemy's side. He was given the corrupted spirit of darkness, so he actually had no idea what he was doing. The corrupted spirits made him evolve into Duskmon and Velgemon."

Takuya paused for a second thinking of what to say and what to leave out. "He gave us a real good beating too." In fact he almost killed them too, but the chosen didn't need to know that little detail. "Kouji and I managed to beat him, and that's when we found out they were brothers."

"How does someone know they don't have a brother?" Yolei interrupted, "Oops sorry." She forgot they were supposed to wait until the end for questions. But that same question ran through all the chosen's minds.

Takuya wasn't surprised when she asked and answered her question before continuing. "Their parents divorced when they were little and they grew up apart. Kouichi ended up in the Digital World after trying to find Kouji. He felt so bad about the things he did as Duskmon, but none of us held it against him."

The chosen knew that there was some dark history behind the twins but they didn't think it was anything like that. "Anyway, after we purified the spirits of darkness Kouichi proved to be a very important member of our team. We couldn't have saved the Digital World without him."

"In our last battle with Lucemon, Kouichi almost died," Zoe said quietly, "He sacrificed himself to save us from one of Lucemon's attacks. After the battle we found out that he was taken to the hospital. We all thought that he was dead, his heart had stopped and everything. But by some miracle his heart started beating again and he woke up." Zoe paused for a second to wipe the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes. "That's why Kouji is always so protective of him. They were separated for so long; he doesn't want anything to tear them apart again."

The chosen were quiet, still trying to take in everything they just heard. Then Ken decided to speak up, "I guess that's why he didn't say much when I told him about being the Digimon Emperor. He went through the same thing."

"Thank you for sharing that with us," Tai said sincerely. Takuya nodded at him but wouldn't look him in the eye. All the warriors looked a bit down. They were reliving the encounters with Duskmon and the few terrifying moments in the hospital where Kouichi's heart had stopped beating.

Some of the chosen wanted to check on Kouichi to make sure he was alright. But the warriors reassured them that he would be fine and they guaranteed that Kouji would be by his brother's side.

"I'm sure he just wants some time alone," JP said, "Well as alone as he can get with Kouji practically attached to him. If you really want to see him, I saw wait a bit give the twins some time together first."

* * *

**School Rooftop**

The sky was clear letting the moon illuminate the night accompanied by billions of stars. Kouji was leaning on his arms against the railing looking at the night sky, the slight breeze his ponytail slightly. On the other hand Kouichi was sitting with his back to the rail a few feet away from his brother. He had his legs pulled to his chest with his arms wrapped securely around them. He wasn't enjoying the scenery like his brother, but rather staring blankly at the ground in front of him.

Kouichi expected that his brother would follow him, so there was no point in telling him to go away. So far the twins merely sat in silence, both lost in their own thoughts.

After about ten minutes Kouji broke the silence. "You shouldn't let this bother you so much, no one blames you for anything."

Kouichi turned his head to look at his brother, who was still looking out toward the city. "They should I'm always causing trouble for everyone."

"That's not true!" Kouji spun around and took a few steps closer to Kouichi. "You were used; you never attacked us on purpose. The only people to ever control their beast spirits the first time were you and Zoe so don't let that bother you either."

Silence fell over the twins again as Kouichi contemplated what his brother was telling him. His brother and his friends were always on his side no matter what happened. His recent breakthrough with TK was also encouraging.

"I hope we aren't interrupting." Ken and TK stood in the doorways that lead to the roof. Wormmon was being carried in Ken's arms and Patamon was riding on top of TK's head.

"You are," Kouji said rudely and turned around looking back toward the night sky. The pair immediately stopped and gave each other wary looks.

Kouichi chuckled at his brother shaking his head slightly. "It's alright." Ken and TK smiled at him and Kouji snorted refusing to turn around.

"We just wanted to make sure you're alright," Ken said sitting down next to Kouichi. TK remained standing on his other side away from Kouji. "The others told us about what happened with you and your relationship with Duskmon and-"

"They had no right to tell you anything!" Kouji snapped and turned around to glare at them. Wormmon shifted nervously in Ken's arms, while TK and Patamon looked a bit nervous.

Ken bravely continued on ignoring Kouji's outburst, "And we wanted to tell you that you still have our support." Kouichi and Kouji were both shocked. That's it? They were expecting more of a negative reaction when that little bit of history finally snuck out. "I'm sure everyone has done something in the past that we aren't proud of, but we can't let that drag us down from continuing to live our lives."

Ken smiled at him. Kouichi's jaw was hanging open in shock. "Ken's right," TK joined in, "Everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone learns from them. I'll admit that I treated you badly when we first started off but tonight you proved to me that you care deeply for others and are nothing like what I thought you were."

Knowing that everyone supported him made him feel much better. Even if he didn't admit it, he was afraid of the chosen's reaction. He knew they didn't like him at first and he was trying hard to get them to trust him. After his screw up he thought they might rethink their feelings toward him. Kouichi stood up and looked at the two chosen, "Thank you very much. That means a lot to me coming from you guys." He bowed slightly.

"I'm glad that we could help you feel better," Ken said.

"How's your wound?" Kouichi asked Patamon noticing for the first time all the bandages covering the poor digimon.

"It twinges a little but I'm mostly sleepy," Patamon yawned.

"It is starting to get a bit late we should probably head back and get some rest we had a long day." TK delicately removed his partner from the top of his head and cradled him in his arms. The chosen made their way back to the stairwell and turned around when they noticed that the twins weren't following them. "You guys coming?"

"I think we're going to stay out a bit longer. Tell the others not to worry, we'll be in soon," Kouichi said.

The two of them nodded and bid them good night before disappearing down the stairs. Once they were out of sight Kouichi went to lean on the rail next to his brother. "Now, why are you so grumpy?" He asked his brother with a small smile on his face. He basically knew the reason why but, it wasn't often he could poke fun at Kouji.

"I'm not grumpy," Kouji mumbled.

"Is it because the people we met a recently managed cheered me up better than you could?" Kouichi broke out into a full blown grin. His idea was confirmed when Kouji didn't reply. "You're my brother; you're supposed to back me up no matter what. It just meant a little more coming from them."

"Well next time I'll make sure to say it was you're a horrible person and the entire thing was your fault and you should feel bad," Kouji smirked at him. Kouichi couldn't hold back a laugh. The two of them continued their playful banter well into the night.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

It was late in the night when the twins finally left the rooftop. When they got to the rooms that they have been occupying for a few days, they found all the lights already out. It was a long day, and everyone else had already gone to bed. The two of them joined the rest and quickly fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

Kouichi was the last to wake up the next morning. When he finally managed to open his eyes, he found that the room was completely unoccupied except for him. He could hear muffled voices. So the others should be in the other room. After getting himself ready for the day, he went in search of the others.

He quickly found some of them in the computer lab; his brother, Takuya, Tommy, Zoe and JP where there, along with Izzy, Tai and Matt. By the sound of it, his brother was berating Takuya for telling the chosen the Duskmon story.

"Well, you see um, it was totally JP's fault he told me to tell them!" Takuya was waving his arms around franticly while Kouji glared at him.

"But I'm not the one that actually told them, was I? I just said it would be fair and itwould be better for our team work," JP shrugged. Kouji turned his gaze to JP once he started talking, but quickly switched it back to Takuya after hearing JP's explanation.

"You lied! You said you would take the heat from Kouji!" Takuya pointed angrily at JP.

"I did, but he's not mad at me so I can't do anything about it."

Tommy and Zoe were enjoying watching their friends argue. Both of them were laughing, clutching their stomachs with tears in their eyes. Kouichi and the three chosen children were chuckling softly from the doorway.

Takuya was starting to sweat slightly, Kouji's firm gaze still upon him. He needed to avert his attention if he hopped to make it out of this situation safely. "Matt made me do it," he blurted out turning around to face the child of friendship.

"Don't blame this on me," Matt said, crossing his arms across his chest and shaking his head.

Kouji couldn't stop his chuckle, "Nice to know that you would rat out your friends in an instant." Kouji was upset at first when he found out that his friends told the chosen children about Duskmon, but it had positive results in the end so he let it slide. He was acting upset just to watch Takuya squirm, and it was quite amusing.

Realizing that Kouji was faking, Takuya immediately began cussing and swearing at him, making all the residents in the room laugh.

It took a few minutes for all of them to finally calm down and catch their breaths.

"So, where is everyone else?" Kouichi asked.

"They're making breakfast or waiting to get fed," Zoe said, "The rest of us were going over the plans for today."

"And watching Takuya freak out," Tommy laughed. That comment earned him a punch in the shoulder, but it only made him laugh harder.

Tai began filling Kouichi in on what their plans were so far, "Before we actually take on Dragomon, we're going to try and reduce the number of digimon in his army. According to you guys, there was a bunch of digimon hanging out near the harbor. If they all joined in on the fight we have with Dragomon that would make things a lot harder. So we decided to go in today and eliminate some of them."

"But we don't need all of us to go," Matt said, "So now we're going over who should hang back. Patamon is still hurt so he's going to stay back for sure. And we were thinking that you and your brother could use a day off too."

Kouji didn't like that fact that his friends were going to be putting themselves in danger while he just sat around all day. But Kouichi still looked a bit tired and he didn't want to leave him on his own either. He knew his brother could take care of himself; he just couldn't help but feel that way.

"You were hurt yesterday too, weren't you?" Kouichi asked looking at his twin.

"It's nothing." Kouji wasn't just putting on a tough guy act like he normally was; in fact the wounds had healed drastically over the night and were almost nonexistent.

"I was thinking of staying back too, so I can finalize our plan of attack for tomorrow," Izzy spoke up. "That isn't much time for you guys to recover but we don't have the luxury of dragging out the fight with Dragomon. We waited long enough already; he should be almost completely recovered too."

"We can figure out the details later, I'm starving." Tai stood up and headed for the door. Izzy and Matt stood up after him, with the warriors behind them.

After everyone had eaten their fill, they were all gathered in the courtyard in front of the school. "So it's settled then," Tai began, "Kouji, Kouichi, Izzy, TK, and Davis are staying back."

"I don't know why Veemon and I are staying back," Davis complained, "Yeah, he took a bit of a beating but he's fine."

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine." Veemon jumped up and down a few times to prove his point.

"Think of it this way then, if the enemy attacks the school who's going to protect them," Takuya tried to convince Davis and Veemon that staying back wasn't all bad.

"Oh~, I got ya. Don't worry we'll protect them," Veemon boasted. Kouji rolled his eyes and was about to tell them they didn't need protecting, but a sharp elbow to the side from Kouichi stopped him.

"If anything happens, let us know," Izzy said.

"Keep your D-Terminals near. If it starts getting bad we'll send a message," Matt instructed holding up his D-Terminal to emphasize his point.

"How come we never got something like that," Tommy whispered to Takuya. The older boy merely shrugged.

With that, the assault group began their trek toward the harbor. "Good luck guys, have fun." Patamon waved at them from TK's arms. According to Joe, his wounds were healing nicely, but it still hurt him to fly.

"We will. Get better already!" Gatomon and a few of the other partner digimon waved back.

The group watched as their friends got farther and farther away. When they were finally out of sight Veemon began tugging on the bottom of his partner's shirt. "Davis, I'm bored," Veemon said innocently. Everyone started laughing, except for Kouji who just groaned loudly and face palmed.

* * *

As they reached the harbor area, all the partner digimon evolved to their ultimate forms or their armored forms and the warriors spirit evolved.

"Remember, we're just here to deplete the numbers of Dragomon's army," JP said as he flew next to Kazemon and Halsemon.

"Yeah, yeah, don't spoil the fun. Time to wreck some faces!" Takuya cheered and raced ahead of the others.

"Maybe we should have brought Kouji with us. He would knock some sense into that hot-head," Matt said. He was sitting on Garudamon's shoulder next to Sora, making her laugh. Having been in the same class as the two of them for a few years already, it was a common sight to see Kouji trying to control a hyped up Takuya, or at least poking fun at him.

As Agunimon rounded the corner, he was immediately knocked over with a spout of water. He was blasted back into a wall, but it wasn't the pain that bothered him. He spat out a mouth full of water with a disgusted look on his face, "Disgusting! That tasted like toilet water!" He continued to gag as the others caught up to him and was faced with a small group of Shellmon.

"And how do you know what toilet water tastes like?" Tommy teased, snickering as he helped Takuya to his feet.

"Shut up!"

The Shellmon were then joined by a herd of Orcamon, strange looking humanoid digimon with flippers and fins for appendages and a killer whale's head and coloring. The Orcamon also wore a life vest and a red and white rescue tube.

"Aw~, they're kind of cute," Mimi gushed over the new arrivals. They didn't stay cute for very long as they began their attack. They opened their mouths wide and began to make a horrible high pitched screeching noise. Everyone immediately flinched and covered their ears. Besides creating that god awful noise, their 'Ultrasonic Crusher' created energy rings that sped toward the group.

MetalGreymon and Zudomon quickly moved in front of the others. They blocked the oncoming attack while only taking minimal damage. "I change my mind, they aren't cute at all!" Mimi shouted over the noise with her hands clamped firmly over her ears.

When the Orcamon's attack finally died out, the team could finally lower their hands. Before the enemy could launch another attack, the partner digimon and the warriors rushed toward them.

Torrents of water and blasts of energy flew through the air, but the enemy was easily over powered. It only took a few moments for the last of the Shellmon to be destroyed. With the way cleared, they continued on toward the ocean.

They encountered a few more groups of oceanic digimon, but all were easily defeated. After a couple of hours they finally reached the ocean.

"This should be enough for today we should head back," JP said. They looked around the pier, so far it seemed deserted, nothing moved except for the slight bobbing of the boats tied to the dock. It was strange for the enemy digimon to suddenly disappear, but there was no one in sight.

Bubbles began to erupt from the water near the boats. "Look out!" Angewomon shouted. Four digimon leaped out of the water. The four Shawjamon, armored kappa like digimon each wielding a Kouyoukou staff. Their weapons are created out of heavy metal with one end shaped like a crescent moon and the other resembled the barrel of a gun.

The Shawjamon formed a line and swung their staffs around until the blade end faced the team. "I guess we can just finish off this last group before we leave," Cody said as their partners and the warriors lined up in front of them.

Simultaneously, the Shawjamon slammed their weapons onto the ground. The impact shook the ground and created an enormous tidal wave. The harbor itself was a small area making it impossible to dodge the oncoming wave. Everyone braced themselves for impact as the wave came crashing down on them.

The humans and poor Kumamon were small and easily knocked over by the wave. The larger digimon were able to remain standing even if they were pushed back a few feet. When the water finally receded the humans were sprawled over the ground soaked to the bone. The Shawjamon snickered at the devastation they caused.

The digimon shook themselves; gettingrid of some of the water that clung to their bodies. The Shawjamon suddenly jumped off to the sides surrounding them. Everyone turned to face the closest kappa digimon to them, leaving themselves open to another attack from the ocean.

Two enormous tentacles burst from the water slamming into WereGarurumon and Kazemon. The two of them were slammed into a nearby warehouse and collapsed to the ground. After recoiling his tentacles,MarineDevimon pulled himself out of the water.

They were surrounded by the five ultimate digimon. This fight was going to be a bit harder than the others they had that day.

Matt immediately ran over to his partner after he saw that he wasn't moving. When Matt reached his partner's side, WereGarurumon was unresponsive. He shook him gently a few times to try to get a reaction out of him. WereGarurumon groaned and clenched his teeth as he cracked his eyes open. Matt let out a relived sigh as his partner slowly sat up grubbing the back of his head.

A few feet away, Agunimon was helping a slightly dizzy Kazemon to her feet. "Are you going to be alright?" Takuya asked, concerned.

"I will be." To Zoe the world was still slightly spinning, white dots flashing before her eyes. She thanked Agunimon and took to the skies again. Everything was slightly out of focus but with a firm shake of her head her vision cleared. They enemy digimon closed in on them, their backs to the wall and two Shawjamon on each side and MarineDevimon in front of them. Agunimon and Beetlemon where on the right with Stingmon while Kazemon and Kumamon were fighting alongside WereGarurumon on the left. The remaining partner digimon faced off against MarineDevimon.

MetalGreymon charged at the evil digimon, but he was easily stopped by MarineDevimon. With both his hands being used to stop MetalGreymon he seemed vulnerable to other attacks. Lillymon and Halsemon flew behind him trying to attack him from the back. Before they could use any of their abilities, MarineDevimon's two large tentacles shot out at them, knocking them from the sky.

The force of the attack knocked the two of them into the ocean. Mimi and Yolei tried to run to the edge of the pier to try to catch a glimpse of their partners. They had only taken a few steps before Beetlemon's arm shot out and grabbed Yolei around the waist, tossing her backwards. A few inches where Yolei would have been one of the Shawjamon's blades struck the pavement.

Yolei was shaking; she came that close to getting chopped in half. She would need to give JP a hug later on. Mimi kneeled next to her friend making sure she was alright. "I'm fine," Yolei murmured; her voice came out much shakier than she intended. Mimi helped Yolei back to her feet as the two of them looked back toward the ocean to check on Lillymon and Halsemon. To their relief, Garudamon was hovering above the water fishing out the waterlogged digimon.

The Shawjamon were extremely aggressive, hardly giving their opponent's any time to attack. They swung their staffs viciously through the air, nearly beheading the slower digimon a few times. If the ones they were fighting were out of melee range they would barrage them with blasts of water.

Agunimon growled in frustration. He was continuously dodging attacks from Shawjamon's staff. Whenever there was a small opening in the Shawjamon's attack he would launch a blast of fire at them. Unfortunately, the Shawjamon would just put up a wall of water to extinguish his attack. He was stuck; there wasn't much he could do against them.

The others were in similar predicaments. Due to Beetlemon's heavy armor, he was slower than the kappa digimon, leaving him prone to getting swiped by their staffs. His thick armor protected him from taking too much damage, but the Shawjamon were too quick for him to get a good shot at them.

Kazemon and Stingmon hovered above the fight trying to find an opening in the Shawjamon's defenses. They swooped down a few times trying to catch them off guard. But their attempts were thwarted, either the Shawjamon would sense them coming at the last second and dodge or a nearby Shawjamon would jump in defending its teammate. After watching Kazemon for a few moments, it was obvious something was bothering her. She was slower than usual and she seemed slightly off balance.

Kumamon and WereGarurumon had no protective armor like Agunimon or Beetlemon, so if the Shawjamon managed to hit them it would be big trouble to them. These two focused more on staying away from the swinging blades. Kumamon tried to pelt them with snowballs from his gun, but it had the same effect as Agunimon's fireballs. Everyone was forced to fight defensively.

MetalGreymon was struggling to hold back MarineDevimon. Their power struggle was going nowhere, so MarineDevimon decided to change tactics. Instead of trying to overpower MetalGreymon, he gripped his opponent tighter. He began to chuckle confusing the others. He then opened his mouth, dousing MetalGreymon with deadly ink.

The ink covered his head, shoulders, and the upper part of his torso. Anyplace the ink touched began to burn and eat away at his skin. MetalGreymon howled in pain and immediately sunk to his knees, his body curling in upon itself from the pain.

Zudomon and Digmon jumped in, knocking the aquatic digimon away from their defenseless comrade. Zudomon tried to hit MarineDevimon with a 'Voltage Hammer', but the attack was blocked by one of his opponent's tentacles. Another glob of ink was shot at him but he managed to get out of the way in time. Digmon sent a flurry of drills toward MarineDevimon, who successfully blocked them. The attack created a small smokescreen, but the enemy was otherwise unharmed.

By now Garudamon, Angewomon, and Halsemon were back in the air and re-joining the fight. They simultaneously attacked the enemy, who wasn't expecting their attack due to the smoke from Digmon's previous attack still lingering in the air. MarineDevimon was knocked off his feet and skid to the edge of the pier.

Rather than engaging in a fight, Angewomon flew down to check on MetalGreymon. She could tell her friend was in a lot of pain by the way his eyes were clamped shut and the slight quivering of his shoulders. Angewomon's hands began to glow a faint pink light as she tried to heal MetalGreymon the best she could.

But it wasn't enough, a faint light engulfed MetalGreymon as he reverted back to Agumon. Remnants of the destructive ink still clung to his skin. Angewomon remained by his side, trying to remove the last bits of the ink.

"Agumon!" As soon as Tai saw his partner fall to the ground, he broke away from the rest of the humans and rushed toward his partner. But there was no Beetlemon to knock him out of the way this time. One of the Shawjamon broke away from his fight with WereGarurumon and landed directly in front of Tai.

Realizing what kind of danger he was suddenly put in, Tai quickly tried to back away. But he wasn't fast enough. Shawjamon swung his blade down, creating a deep diagonal gash across Tai's stomach.

It seemed as if the world was put on mute. Tai couldn't hear the worried screams of his friends as the blood dripped from his body. He was in shock as he collapsed to the ground, the pain slowly becoming more and more intense. He began to fall backwards, lucky for him Matt managed to catch him before he hit the ground.

"Tai!" Kari ran over to her brother tears streaming from her eyes. Matt slowly lowered him to the ground. Everyone crowded around them as the battle raged on around them. Seeing what happen to their friend the warriors doubled their efforts. WereGarurumon and Stingmon came in close to make sure no one could get close to the humans.

Beetlemon charged forward and caught the Shawjamon with his horn. He thrust his head upwards launching the stunned digimon into the air. All for warriors attacked him before he could hit the ground. Fire, ice, thunder and wind all collided and stuck the Shawjamon directly in his chest immediately destroying him. Seeing one of their own eliminated so quickly the remaining three Shawjamon became unnerved.

Since they knew that the other humans were safe they took on the remaining kappa digimon one at a time, and it seemed to be more effective that way. Angewomon picked up the now unconscious Agumon and flew over to the humans. She set Agumon gently on the ground before flapping her wings and taking to the air. She summoned her bow and arrows and joined the others in the fight with the three remaining Shawjamon.

Joe was quickly rummaging through his bag looking for anything to help stop the massive amount of blood that was gushing from Tai's wound. He pulled out rolls and bandages and a bag of gauze, he hopped that it would be enough. Matt was carefully trying to peel Tai's shirt from the wound so Joe could treat it properly. It looked really deep, rivers of blood flowed from the wound staining the ground around them. They hoped there was no damage to his internal organs.

Kari couldn't stop the river of tears and was trying to muffle her cries by placing both hands over her mouth. But she couldn't help it, her brother was bleeding out in front of her and there was nothing she could really do. Sora hugged the younger girl, trying to comfort her while also seeking the warmth herself.

All of the other chosen were gathered around, looks of despair and horror etched onto their faces. They wanted to get closer but at the same time didn't want to crowd Joe who was desperately trying to save their friend.

"I've contacted Davis. He and the others are on their way," Yolei said. No one acknowledged her but she wasn't expecting a response anyway. Everyone had their eyes focused on the scene in front of them.

Tai's complexion had already faded to a sickly pale color and his breath came in harsh pants. Joe was pressing piles of gauze into his friends wound, but it didn't seem to help. The pile of blood soaked cloth was steadily increasing.

Matt wanted to yell and scream at Joe to try harder, to make the bleeding stop. But he held his tongue, he knew Joe was doing all he could with the minimal resources he had.

By now, Joe's hands were dyed red with blood and he began to tremble slightly, anxiety slowly settling in. He was applying as much pressure as he could to try to stop the flow of blood without hurting Tai more, but nothing seemed to be slowing it down. He was on his last batch of gauze and the flow of blood was still going strong.

Tears began to leak from behind Joe's eyes. "I'm sorry," Joe murmured. His voice was garbled from trying to hold in his sobs. He kept repeating the phrase over and over, his voice steadily getting softer. At that, the rest of the chosen began to cry.

Matt punched the ground in aggravation. He had his head down causing his bangs to shadow his face but tears could be seen clearly rolling down his cheeks.

Mimi leaned down to place a comforting hand on Kari's back, who was now openly sobbing into Sora's shoulder. Mimi and Sora wanted to be strong for her but they couldn't stop the tears and sniffles that crept up on them.

Yolei, Ken and Cody stayed where they were. Cody tried to keep a straight face, he knew crying wasn't going to help anyone. But when Yolei grabbed his hand seeking support his shoulders began to quiver from holding back tears. After watching his brother get hit by a car, blood always made Ken a bit sick. He turned away from the scene holding onto his stomach.

Takuya threw one last fiery punch at the Shawjamon, but it was easily deflected. He panted heavily, it seemed like all the strength was getting sapped from his limbs. Without warning he changed back into his human self. He knelt down and placed both arms over his torso trying to dull the throbbing pain in his stomach.

'Takuya,' he could hear Agunimon's voice whispering to him. 'Tai's in danger, he's fading.' Hearing his partner's harsh news he turned around and saw the chosen children all surrounding his friend. He shot up and sprinted over there as fast as his exhausted legs could carry him. He stood behind Joe looking over his shoulder. His eyes widened at the amount of blood that had pooled around the collapsed chosen.

He stood there in shock. All the years he knew Tai, he always thought of him as his one of his closest friends outside of the other Legendary Warriors.

'Takuya, if you want to save him we need to act fast," Aguimon's voice was laced with worry.

"What am I supposed to do? I'm not a doctor or anything," Takuya responded.

'Just put your hands over the cut and I'll do the rest.'

Takuya knelt down next to his friend, grimacing at the massive amount of blood that covered both his Tai's body as well as Joe's hands. He asked Joe to move aside, getting strange looks from everyone.

"What are you doing?" Joe asked when Takuya placed both palms about an inch over his friend's body.

"I have no idea," Takuya answered honestly. Then suddenly**,** he felt both his hands begin to heat up at an alarming rate. At the same time, his whole body began to glow a bright red.

**A/N: Updates may take a bit longer due to my attention getting pulled in multiple directions. Besides the common work and school, I'll admit I spend most of my free time playing video games :P. I have also been drawing more than writing lately. I don't want to say 'more reviews or no update' like some authors do but they do help give that extra push to get writing. Hope to see you all soon :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**A/N: Sorry for the really long wait. Both my beta and I have been pretty busy. Unfortunately I have mid-terms back to back this week and the upcoming week so the next chapter may take a while. Anyway hope this chapter is all to your liking. Happy reading! **

Tai's breaths came in raspy heaves. The sound of the battle and his friend's worried cries slowly faded away. The world fell around him; leaving him lying on the cold pavement, surrounded by darkness. He tried to move, but even simply opening his eyes took too much effort. Now cold was settling in. It started from his stomach and began to spread to the rest of his body. The cold sapped whatever pitiful amount of strength remained in his body.

He already knew it was the end for him. Images of his family and friends flashed through his mind. The first image was of his family; Kari was smiling as she stood between their parents. The next few images were of him and the other chosen children on their first adventure in the Digital World, followed by flashes of the year when Davis and the others were chosen.

Finally**,** there were a few images of the last few years of his life before the images faded completely. He knew he was dying and there was nothing really he could do about it. He couldn't just leave his friends and family they needed him, and what about Agumon. There were still so many things left that he wanted to do.

He gave up, it was over. Everyone would just need to manage without him. Someone would need to look after Kari for him. She was old enough to take care of herself, but she would be alone now so someone needs to be there for her. What would Agumon do without him? He let out one last breath, and then a burning pain erupted from his abdomen. It felt like someone had poured oil over his body and threw a match on it.

As Agunimon's power flowed into him the destroyed muscles slowly stitched themselves back together. The heat from the wound quickly spread to the rest of his body. Tai was amazed that he hadn't burst into flames yet. It could have been hours or seconds that past while his wound was repairing itself, but Tai had lost all conception of time.

Finally, the last gap in his skin was closed, but the fire didn't die down. It flowed through his body, restoring the lost energy and rejuvenating him. Tai's breathing became calmer and less forced and the fire slowly ebbed away. He slowly began to open his eyes. The simple act seemed impossible a few moments ago.

Everything was a blur at first, but then again there wasn't much to see; everything around him was still dark. One thing stood out from the darkness. Kneeling next to him was a warrior clad in red and gold armor. His entire figure was glowing with a bright red aura. Tai's eyes focused on the warrior's hand that hovered over his body. Some of the red aura was steadily flowing into his body. To his amazement the enormous gash on his stomach was replaced with a pale scar.

As his vision began to clear, he recognized the figure that was healing him. "Agunimon?" Tai's voice was very soft and raspy, but it was loud enough to get the warriors attention.

'How are you feeling?" Agunimon smiled at him. Looking closer Tai noticed that Agunimon's form wasn't solid, he was slightly transparent.

"Hot," Tai groaned, closing his eyes again. He could hear Agunimon chuckling at him.

'That means your body is filling up with our energy. The wound is closed and we replenished some of your energy, but there is nothing we can really do about the blood loss so take it easy for a while.'

"Us?"

'Takuya and I of course. It's about time you woke up now everyone is worried about you.' Agunimon faded away leaving Tai alone in the darkness.

"How do I do that?" Tai asked.

'Just open your eyes.'

* * *

Tai was confused, he already tried opening his eyes and he couldn't see anything. He let out a deep sigh and tried again. This time, instead of darkness his senses where barraged with lights and sounds. Tai gasped in shock as he took in everything around him. The battle was still raging on, MarineDevimon was covered in gashes and limping and there were only two of the four Shawjamon left. Thankfully their digimon and the Legendary Warriors looked more or less alright, just slightly out of breath.

"Mornin' buddy," Takuya welcomed him back to the land of the living. He was panting slightly with beads of sweat rolling down his face; he had used a lot of energy trying to heal Tai, leaving him thoroughly exhausted. He felt like he was about to pass out but now was neither the time nor place for a nap.

There were gasps of shock and happiness when they had noticed that Tai opened his eyes. Tai tried to sit up slowly to show the others that he was alright.

"I don't think that's a good idea, rest." Joe had placed his hand on his shoulder and tried to push him back down. Tai reassured him that he was alright and slowly sat up anyway. Almost instantly, Kari threw her hands around him and buried her face in his shoulder. Her entire frame was shaking from crying but her sobs had quieted to soft sniffles.

Tai smiled and returned his sister's hug. He whispered to her quietly, "I'm fine. Don't cry." The other chosen children smiled and dried their eyes seeing that by some miracle Tai was going to be fine.

Matt wiped his eyes furiously, trying to hide the fact that he was crying. "You sure you're okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, just a little tired," Tai answered. Tai looked over at Takuya who was now lying flat on the ground, his arms and legs spread out around him. "Thank you," he said sincerely, "There is no way I can ever repay you for what you did."

"You can wake me up when the fight's over," Takuya joked. Takuya was glad this his friend was going to live, but he felt like he didn't deserve the praise. He didn't really do anything; it was Agunimon who did all the work.

'But I can't do anything without you. Don't forget that.' Takuya couldn't help but smile at Agunimon's voice.

Roar of pain startled everyone causing them to jump, bringing their attention back the fight at hand. The enemy was definitely on the ropes now. The roar they had heard was MarineDevimon getting struck my multiple attacks, which ultimately lead to his destruction.

The partner digimon that were fighting him held their position surrounding the cloud of smoke that was created by the collision of their attacks. They waited for the smoke to clear just to make sure MarineDevimon was really gone. As soon as the smoke dissipated they rushed over to the others to help finish of the Shawjamon.

The Shawjamon proved to be excellent fighters, but even they couldn't take on so many opponents at once. They sent waves of water at their opponents and slashed at the ones that dared to tread to close. But in the end, they were over whelmed. With so many attacks coming their way, they couldn't dodge them all. They eventually met the same fate as their comrades.

The digimon gathered around the group of children once the fight had been won. "Great job, everyone alright?" Angewomon asked, as she and the others landed. She received silent nods from all the children. Next to her Kazemon turned back to Zoe while rubbing the back of her head. She grumbled quietly to herself, obviously bothered.

"Are you okay?" Yolei asked her. Not wanting to sap the girl's strength further, Halsemon changed back into Hawkmon.

"Head hurts," Zoe mumbled, her voice was quiet and was difficult for the rest of them to understand. Concerned, Joe walked over to her and checked the area that her hand was gingerly rubbing. Carefully moving her hand away he noticed the area was extremely swollen, it was probably from hitting her head against the wall earlier.

"Can you tell me what you had for breakfast this morning?" Joe asked her. Some of the other children gave him weird looks for asking what seemed like a random question. To their amazement Zoe shook her head, a confused look coming over her face.

"I think you may have a moderate concussion," Joe said.

"During the battle, her flying did seem oddly uncoordinated," Stingmon informed them. It was unheard of for the warrior of wind to have difficulties flying.

"You should probably take it easy for a while." Joe placed a hand on the small of her back and led her to where Tai and Kari were sitting. Rather than protesting like she normally would Zoe nodded and sat down next to the siblings silently.

"Do you think you can make her an icepack?" Joe asked, looking towards Kumamon.

"Sure, no problem." Kumamon nodded enthusiastically, grateful that he could do something to help his friend. Joe passed him a small empty plastic bag. Kumamon cupped his hands and brought them to his mouth. The others could hear him exhaling into his hands, small puffs of frosty air leaking between his fingers. A few moments later he dumped little chunks of ice into the bag. After securing the bag closed Joe handed the bag of ice to Zoe who smiled and thanked both of them.

"Hey!"

Looking up to the sky they saw MegaKabuterimon flying over to them. As soon as he landed Davis and Veemon hopped of his back and looked around expectantly. The rest of them took their time climbing off of the giant beetles back.

"So where's the fight?" Davis asked, "Yolei said that it was an emergency."

"Sorry Davis you're a bit late," Ken chuckled slightly at Davis's and Veemon's disappointed looks.

Izzy immediately noticing the drying blood on the ground gasped, "What happened?!" The urgent tone of his voice drew the new comers' attention. Their eyes widened as the saw the massive amount of blood on the ground.

"I was just a bit careless is all," Tai tried to reassure him. They noticed Tai's blood soaked clothes and an unconscious Agumon lying nearby. It looks like they missed out on something big. "Don't worry," he said noticing their disbelieving looks, "Takuya fixed me right up."

All eyes turned to the warrior of fire who had fallen asleep now that the action was over. He was beginning to snore and drool was slowly dripping from the side of his mouth. Everyone laughed at the poor exhausted warrior of fire.

Their happiness didn't last long. A huge tremor shook the ground around them, knocking a few to their feet. After a few seconds of tremendous shaking the tremors slowly began to subside. Everyone looked around warily searching for a new opponent. A loud snore made everyone jump. They turned to see that Takuya had turned over, and was now on his side snoring loudly.

"How the hell can anyone sleep through that!?" Beetlemon shouted.

The cause of the tremors was quickly located, when and enormous water spout erupted from the ground beneath them. A few where spared from the torrent of water and quickly ran to put some distance between them and growing pillar of water. There were some unfortunate ones that were standing where the water first emerged.

Those unlucky few were tossed into the air, but the larger digimon were ready. MegaKabuterimon, Garudamon, and Zudomon managed to catch the falling children before the hit the ground. Zudomon had to dive to the right immediately after catching Cody to stop Izzy from spattering all over the ground. Zudomon's paw was softer than the concrete that made up the ground, but not enough to make for a comfortable landing.

Izzy had landed awkwardly, crushing his right hand. A sharp pain raced up Beetlemon's arm. Being one of the few able to fly he was hovering above them out of range of the water. He was perfectly fine so he knew the problem didn't come from him.

"Hey Izzy, you alright?" Beetlemon flew down to where Zudomon was cradling Cody and Izzy in his hands. Izzy was sitting up holding his right hand against his chest trying not to move it. Cody was sitting next to the older boy worriedly.

"I think I may have broken my wrist," Izzy hissed. There was nothing they could do about it at the moment. Joe only carried a few bandages with him, and they were already used on Tai. Izzy would just need to hold out until they could get back to the school.

Zudomon slowly lowered the two boys back to the ground. "I'm sorry Izzy," he apologized. Izzy carefully climbed of the large digimon's paw, trying not to jar his injured arm. Cody was stepping down next to Izzy placing his hands in the older boy's back and arm trying to make the transport easier anyway he could.

"It's not your fault. If you hadn't caught me I would have gotten much more than a broken wrist." Zudomon still had a guilty frown on his face.

Looking around it looked like everyone else was alright. How many more times would they get doused with water today?

"What's happening?!"

Apparently getting thrown through the air was enough to wake up the sleepy Takuya. He stared wide-eyed at the pillar of water that was still miraculously flowing. He was hanging off of Garudamon's arms next to Matt.

"Good afternoon, have a nice nap?" Matt snickered at him.

A roar came from within the tower of water, caused another small tremor to shake the ground. Then the water stopped flowing and the remaining water came crashing back to the ground, revealing a very angry Dragomon. A few faint scratches littered the evil digimon's body, but other than that he looked as good as new. In fact he looked better than last time. His body was larger than it was the last time they saw him, his skin was a slightly darker shade and it seemed to ooze out some kind of dark aura.

"Looks like he got some help, this isn't going to be pretty," Davis scowled at the master of the dark ocean. At the arrival of the new opponent, Veemon evolved to his champion form. With no Agunimon, Flamedramon wouldn't have that extra boost. Hawkmon was in a similar position, and also took on his champion form. Patamon whined from TK's arms, he wanted to fight but in his condition he wouldn't be of any use.

"Lord Lucemon expects me to get rid of you. I won't fail!" Dragomon's voice reverberated off the buildings around them. He summoned his trident and charged at them. Similar to their first encounter, Zudomon stepped up the parry his attack. But unlike last time, Zudomon stood no chance against the super-charged digimon. Their weapons clashed and locked in mid-air for a moment. Within a matter of seconds Zudomon was over powered and thrown backwards.

"Whoa," Kumamon gaped. He wasn't the only one that was shocked at Dragomon's display of strength.

The evil digimon chucked, amused by Zudomon's pathetic attempt to stop him. The other partner digimon went over to Zudomon to help him to his feet. Now that they were gathered all together Dragomon saw a perfect opportunity to showcase his new ability.

The prayer beads around his neck began to glow. The glow intensified and spread down his arms and into the trident. He raised his weapon and dark purple colored laser beams shot out from the three points of his trident and flew toward the digimon. They cried out in pain as the beams hit them. Lilymon, Stingmon and Zudomon got the brunt of the attack and took the most damage.

Dragomon chuckled, happy with the results. Multiple attacks collided with his back, but caused minimal damage. Without so much as even blinking he turned around and saw the warriors facing him standing in fighting stances. While Dragomon was focused on the other digimon, Kouji and Kouichi took the opportunity to spirit evolve. While Takuya and Zoe were down for the count Tommy and JP where still alive and kicking. Kumamon had his gun raised and aimed toward Dragomon, and JP and standing with both of his fists up in what looked like a boxing position with sparks of electricity occasionally shooting off of them.

JP didn't want to show it but moving his wrist in any way was painful. It was going to be hard to fight when most of his attacks involved his fists. It looked like their attacks barely did anything to the evil digimon. If anything the most they did was draw his attention away from the others.

Dragomon didn't like getting interrupted, but there were only four puny looking opponents so it shouldn't take too long to exterminate them. As his eyes roamed over his new opponents and realized they weren't there in the last fight, and where did the strange energy creatures go? Oh well, it didn't matter they wouldn't be around for much longer anyway.

Dragomon raised his trident again and launched another set of beams at the warriors. Already knowing what to expect, the four warriors leapt out of the way. Once clear of the beams, Lobomon and Beeltemon charged toward Dragomon while Kumamon and Lowëmon sent snowballs and energy beams at their opponent.

Lobomon slashed a few times at Dragomon with his swords, but it did minimal damage. There were small indents in the skin where the swords made contact, but even they were extremely shallow. Beetlemon was doing slightly better. His electric attacks caused slightly more damage than Kouji's swords but the pain in his arm was limiting the amount of force he could put behind his attacks. Dragomon tried to smack them away with his tentacles or his trident, but luckily Kouji and JP evaded all of his attacks.

While the warriors were fighting, the other partner digimon were back on their feet and racing toward the battle. Lobomon and Beetlemon saw that their friends were approaching and quickly disengaged from their fight with Dragomon. Now that the way was clear everyone launched their best attack at them.

Dragomon roared in agony as his body was torn up by the massive amounts of attacks. The massive amount of energy from all the attacks swirled together and clung to Dragomon's body continuing to do more damage. They all let out happy cheers; they finally did some major damage. But the excitement didn't last long. From within the bundle of swirling energy that was now Dragomon, his prayer beads began to glow again.

Dragomon fought off the pain and swung his trident in a diagonal arc. The same energy burst from the trident breaking though the attacks that surrounded him. The energy beams weren't straight like the first time but acted more like whips. The beams curved through the air slamming into Angewomon, Lilymon, Stingmon, and Kumamon. Lilymon and Stingmon where hovering near each other and were hit across their chests. The attack sent them flying through the air, only to slam into the wall of a nearby building. Both of them fell to the ground and changed back to their in-training forms, with large red marks across their bodies.

Angewomon and Kumamon were a little luckier. The attack knocked the two of them into the ocean rather than into a solid object. But it was Gatomon and a human Tommy that broke the surface of the water when they came back up for air. Tommy knew they were in greater danger in the water, so he grabbed Gatomon and began quickly began swimming back to shore.

Kari and Matt where waiting to help pull Tommy out of the water. He thanked them and handed Gatomon over to Kari. Gatomon was slightly battered but more or less alright, she was more upset that her fur was soaked through.

Ken and Mimi ran over to their partners as the other digimon began firing more attacks at Dragomon. Minomon and Tanemon were still conscious when their partner's reached them. Ken gently picked up Minomon and cradled him in his arms, even with his carful movements small whimpers of pain escaped from the small digimon. Mimi was crying slightly, nuzzling Tanemon as she held her partner close. Things were going from bad to worse.

Dragomon expertly manipulated his trident to cut through every attack that came his way. WereGarurumon, Lowëmon, and Exveemon tried to sneak around him to find a vulnerable area to attack from. But Dragomon was expecting them to try something like that and stuck all three of them with his tentacle arms. They landed with a hard thud against the ground as Dragomon's prayer beads began glowing. More beams shot from his trident, they managed to scamper out of the way just in time.

"This isn't working," Davis said frustrated, "He's just going to whittle down our numbers this way. Can't you guys beast spirit evolve or whatever it was that Kouichi did?" His question was directed toward Takuya and Zoe who were watching the battle anxiously next to him.

"That may not be the best idea. Everything we know about them functioning in the real world is based on theories. If the three of them did evolve we might be able to beat Dragomon, but what happens if they can't control it? It's not worth the risk." Takuya thought about it too. But then he remembered all the damage he caused as BurningGreymon and realized it was just too dangerous.

"What about DNA-Digivolution?" Cody asked.

"That's still a theory too. But it's a safer bet than trying out the beast spirits." Izzy walked up to them holding his wrist gently. "It's different than everything else we've been trying so far. The warriors have been using our strength to evolve and they just share their extra power with us, but in this case our partners need to harness the warrior's energy."

"Then let's try it then," Davis said enthusiastically.

"I'm sorry Davis, but Minomon can't fight anymore," Ken told his friend sadly. He had forgotten about that. That means no Paildramon, and the fact the Patamon was in no shape to battle either that meant no Shakkuwamon either. That left only one option. The chosen all turned to look at Yolei and Kari.

Realizing that all the pressure was put on them, Yolei began to panic. "How are we supposed to do that? We can't just go up to them and ask; oh by the way can we steal some of your power so that we can DNA-Digivolve."

'Sure you can!'

A happy voice echoed in Yolei's mind. Not expecting a telepathic response, Yolei let out a surprised shriek. Everyone else jumped not expecting her to suddenly scream. While everyone else gave her odd looks, Zoe began laughing. Now the attention was diverted to her. Was the concussion messing with her brain?

"Can she really hear me?" Yolei asked Zoe. Now everyone was confused. Who was Yolei talking about?

"Yeah, in a way you're her partner too, so you're bonded with her. The spirits can't really talk so they communicate though a link that they share with you." Zoe finally calmed down enough to speak properly. By now Takuya caught on to what happened and chuckled a little.

"Kazemon started talking to her?" He whispered to Zoe, receiving a small nod from the girl.

"Are you going to be alright?" Yolei knew that Zoe was supposed to be taking it easy and didn't want the older girl injuring herself more.

"Don't worry about me; most of the power should be coming from Kazemon. It's going to be a bit taxing for me but it's better than me trying to physically do something."

"So how are we supposed to do this?" Yolei asked.

'Open your heart and your spirit to us. The ability to combine powers comes from both spirits. So get ready this might be a little rough," Kazemon instructed. Her voice lost its cheery tone and took on a more serious edge.

Yolei wasn't quite sure what her instructions meant but she gave it her best shot. She closed her eyes and brought both her hands together near her mouth like she was praying, her D-3 clutched in her hands. She trusted Zoe and Kazemon with all her being; they put their lives in danger countless times for them. She remembered when Zoe bravely fought off Arukenimon to protect them. They needed their help one more time. The screen on Yolei's D-3 began glowing, the symbol for the warrior of wind shone brightly in the center. Amidst dodging tentacles and lasers, Aquilamon felt a new power flow through him. Taken by surprise, he faltered slightly in the air but he had no time to think about it and went back to the fight at hand.

Yolei opened her hands and smiled down at the glowing device. "Your turn," she said turning toward Kari. She nodded and stepped forward slightly holding and excited Gatomon in her arms.

"Lobomon!" she yelled, trying to get the warrior's attention. Lobomon was busy firing lasers from the weapon strapped to his wrist. He heard Kari yelling for him and turned to look at the girl. But before he could respond he was knocked over by one of Dragomon's tentacles.

Kouji sat up and furiously wiped the dirt from his face. "What?!" he shouted back angrily.

Kari had winced when Kouji was knocked to the ground, she apologized for distracting him. How was she supposed to explain this to him? Yolei had kind of just shouted and it formed a connection, but she wasn't as loud and out spoken as her friend is. Good thing Takuya decided to handle her problem for her.

"Get over here we have a plan," Takuya yelled, waving his arms around franticly.

Kouji pushed himself to his feet and ran over to the others. "I thought you were tired?" he asked Takuya.

"I'm sitting down aren't I?"

Not having the patients to deal with Takuya at the moment, he turned his gaze toward Kari and asked her again what she wanted.

"We're going to try having Aquilamon and Gatomon DNA-Digivolve but we need your help to do it," Kari quickly explained the situation to him. Kouji nodded. There was no comforting voice like before but Kari didn't really need any, she had a feeling that, like Kouji, Lobomon was a person of few words.

Kari's D-3 began glowing just like Yolei's had and Gatomon jumped out of her partners arms and shouted for Aquilamon. The bird digimon turned his back on the battle and flew towards them. The power was building and pulsing within them. They recognized the feeling, and anticipated their bodies and their powers coming together.

As Aquilamon reached them Gatomon jumped up to reach him. When they touched a bright light shone over the whole area. Everyone that was engrossed in the battle stopped, including Dargomon, and turned curiously toward the light. As the light faded Silphymon was revealed, standing there proudly.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**A/N: Some people have been asking about pairings, but I'm not going to be going to much into them. There is a reason I did't put this story in the romance genre. I'm going to be hinting at a few couples,but it's not going to be huge. Nothing is set in concrete. I may even have scenes that depict multiple pairing for one person. Is it romantic or is it friendly? It all comes down to how you depict it :) **

Dragomon was pleased with how the battle was going so far. The new addition to the fight didn't look so threatening. This puny little ultimate was nothing compared to him. Dragomon growled and pointed his staff toward the newly evolved Silphymon.

Using their superior speed, Silphymon flew toward Dragomon in an attempt to disarm him. Most of his attacks seemed to rely mostly on his trident. They shot multiple attacks at his arms in an attempt to weaken his grip. But Dragomon expertly spun his trident nullifying the attacks. Dragomon fired a few lasers at Silphymon to interrupt their attacks.

Silphymon dodged the lasers that came in their direction. They took to the skies and joined the other flying digimon in the air. Silphymon began to bombard him with more 'Static Force' attacks once they got into position. Dragomon was ready and shot more lasers into the air to intercept the attack. They hoped the new ultimate would be able to provide the extra fire power they needed, but that idea was quickly being crushed.

The battle ended up going back to how it was before. They spent most of their time trading attacks with Dragomon. They successfully dodged all of his attacks but their attacks seemed to be doing nothing to him. Dragomon destroyed the majority of the attacks that came his way and the few that got through seemed to merely dissipate after coming in contact with him.

Dragomon slammed his trident on the ground and a wave of power flowed out. All the digimon were knocked over and out of the air. Luckily for the humans the power fizzled out by the time it reached them. All they felt was a warm tingly feeling wash over them. The digimon were at a much closer range and they had it much worse. As Dragomon's power hit them, it felt more like razors whipping past them marring their skin.

Dragomon chuckled darkly before throwing his head back in full blown laughter. The digimon groaned and rose shakily to their feet.

"This is no different even with you here," Beetlemon said to Silphymon, "No offence." Silphymon ignored his jab and fired another 'Static Force' at Dragomon. This time Dragomon just smirked at them and let the attack hit him in the chest. His body glowed purple for an instant before the attack hit him. Once the ball of energy made contact, it fizzled away to nothingness.

Izzy's eyes widened at what he just saw. Looking around at the others, they all had similar expressions of frustration on their faces. Did no one else see that? It looked like their enemy was protected from a barrier of some kind. He must have been evading their attacks earlier to try to hide the fact that he was protected.

But now he was openly using that barrier. He was getting cocky, and that may lead to his defeat. If they could get rid of that somehow, then maybe they still had a chance. Izzy's mind began spinning as he attempted to come up with some kind of strategy.

"Attack him again." A voice broke his concentration. Maybe he wasn't the only one to notice something after all.

"There's no point, our attacks aren't doing anything," Garudamon argued.

"Just do it. Let's hit him again," Lobomon repeated. Even if the others agreed with Garudamon they followed his command anyway.

All the digimon launched simultaneous attacks at Dragomon. The enemy didn't move and took all their attacks. Izzy watched closely. It happened again; right before the attacks hit the purple glow appeared for a second. The attacks caused a smoke cloud that completely hid the enemy from view.

Dragomon used their blindness to take the opportunity to attack. More beams of energy shot through the smoke. The digimon barely had any chance to dodge. One of the beams headed straight toward Löweemon. He managed to summon his shield right before the attack could hit him. His shield held firm and blocked the attack, but he was still knocked off his feet. He was blasted backwards and rolled across the ground before changing back into his human form.

Kouichi heard his friends shout his name and quickly looked up. The smoke had cleared and Dragomon was pointing his trident directly at him. His eyes widened as the prayer beads began to glow. Suddenly, arms wrapped around him and he was lifted into the air. The lasers hit the area where he was just a moment ago.

"Thanks." Kouichi turned slightly and smiled at Exveemon. The champion flew toward the other humans and placed him down next to the others.

"Are you alright?" Sora asked as Exveemon released him. As soon as he put Kouichi down, Exveemon headed back toward the others. Dragomon, frustrated that his prey escaped so easily, began his attacks again.

"Just a bruise here and there," Kouichi said. He winced a bit as he pressed a hand to his side.

"Kouji is known for thinking things through. Why would he order them to keep blindly attacking him?" Takuya was confused, that didn't sound like their friend at all.

"He is thinking it through," Izzy said, continuing to watch the fight.

"Doesn't look like it to me," Davis murmured.

"There's a purple glow that surrounds him right before the attacks hit," Izzy informed them, "I'm sure Kouji saw it too and was testing his theory."

They turned back to watch the fight, where they were still trying to bombard Dragomon with attacks. Now that they knew what to look for the other humans noticed the slight shift in the air around the digimon that seemed to be protecting him against the attacks.

"If we can get rid of his shield we can beat him!" Cody cheered enthusiastically.

"He gained some kind of power since we last saw him. If we can find the source of his power, we can destroy it and get rid of his barrier," Ken said.

"But how are we supposed to do that?" Matt asked. No one knew the answer for that.

With another sweep of his trident, the digimon were knocked back again. Most of the partner digimon were getting frustrated. The way they were fighting, they were only going to tire themselves out.

"This isn't getting us anywhere!" WereGarurumon cried. He swiped the ground with his claws in aggravation.

"Yeah Kouji, why are you making us waste our strength like this?" Beetlemon looked over to the warrior of light. But his question was ignored. Lobomon was busy conversing with Silphymon in hushed tones. Silphymon nodded at Lobomon and took to the skies.

"What's going on?" Zudomon asked. The rest of them had gathered around, wanting to know the same thing. Before Kouji could explain another attack from Dragomon came there way and blasted them off their feet.

Dragomon was enjoying playing with them, but it was getting a bit boring now. They couldn't touch him and he was easily wiping the floor with them. The pleasure of beating them senseless had faded; it was about time he finished them off.

He lowered his trident, pointing it at the fallen digimon. A sneer spread across his face as his trident began to glow. When he annihilated them, the great lords would certainly reward him.

The humans watched on in horror at what looked like Dragomon's final move. "Now! Aim for the beads!" Kouji's voice cut through the eerie silence.

Dragomon looked directly at the one that shouted to see that his gaze was focused on something behind him. As he attempted to turn around a pink orb of condensed energy slammed into the back of his neck. Dragomon let out a cry of agony as the pain from the attack spread to the rest of his body. He was careless; he didn't notice that one of them had slipped away. He didn't see the attack coming giving him no time to raise his barrier.

Dragomon turned his head slightly to face Silphymon who was hovering in the air panting slightly. It looks like they put all their power behind that last attack. He snarled angrily, how dare they use such dirty tricks to try and get the better of him. He wheeled around and raised his trident to attack the weakened digimon.

But his legs suddenly gave out beneath him. Dragomon's eyes widened, all of his strength was fading rapidly. His body shrunk to his normal size and dangerous aura the previously surrounded his body faded away. With the sudden loss of power he sunk to his knees. He raised his hands to his neck searching for the prayer beads that Lucemon had bestowed upon him.

They were gone! His neck bare, he looked around frantically for the necklace. To his horror it laid on the ground a few feet away, the beads cracked and crumbling away to nothing. The same aura that was once protecting and strengthening him was seeping out of the broken beads.

Not missing a beat, the digimon realized that their opponent was now handicapped. They all readied their strongest attack and fired. Dragomon looked on, for the first time his expression was one of fear as the attacks closed in on him. There was no time for him to recover, no time to save himself. All of the attacks hit him straight on.

The impact was too much and Dragomon was finally destroyed. Realizing that their enemy was vanquished everyone erupted in cheers.

The humans ran up to their digimon counter parts. Tai stayed where he was gently petting Agumon who was still snoozing away. His breathing had calmed down some and now it seemed like he was just resting rather than being in agonizing pain. There were patches of skin that were raw from where MarineAngemon's acid had eatenaway at.

As their partners approached them, the rest of the digimon turned back into their rookie and in-training forms.

"You guys did great!" Yolei cheered as she hugged Poromon. With the battle over they were all exhausted and began the long trek back to school. Matt was carrying Agumon on his back; Tai wanted to hold his partner but they all agreed that he shouldn't be handling anything too heavy yet and his partner was known for his rather large appetite. The poor digimon had finally woken up when they were trying to move him. At first he was upset that he was so useless in the fight, but the others reassured him that it was alright, it wasn't his fault.

"So the necklace was where the power was coming from?" Ken asked.

"I noticed that every time he would try to attack us the beads would glow and there was this aura that was protecting him from our attacks," Kouji began to explain, "Last time we fought him the beads didn't really do anything and now that they did he gained all these new abilities. Silphymon was our fastest flyer so it would be easiest for them to sneak around him while the rest of us held his attention."

"The best part was how helpless he was after the necklace was destroyed," Gatomon began to boast holding her head high. "I wish we knew that sooner then we could have beaten him so much faster."

Everyone agreed with her. They may have come out victorious, but most of them sustained some pretty bad injuries.

"I have more supplies at the school but we may need to pick up more tomorrow," Joe said going over the remainder of supplies he had left in his head. "I also don't have everything we need to help Izzy either. I hate to say it but we're going to need to steal from the hospital."

"Don't think of it as stealing since there's no one's around to use the stuff besides us anyway," Davis said. He had a point, but the thought of just raiding the hospital didn't sit well with Joe.

* * *

It was already late in the day when they reached the school. They were all exhausted and hungry. Looks like the medical supplies wasn't the only thing running out.

"Aww man, is that it?" Takuya complained, looking at the measly portion of food that was placed in front of him. Everyone had collected in the cafeteria for some well-deserved dinner. Sora and Kari were passing out food to everyone else,while TK and Matt were giving some to the digimon.

"Sorry Takuya, but were saving some for tomorrow morning. We're going to need to go out and find more food this is almost the last of it," Sora apologized. The digimon were known to easily down massive amounts of food, and with all the battling they've been doing they needed the energy.

"Looks like we're going shopping tomorrow," Tommy joked.

"We could use a day off to rest and recover before we try to do anything else." Matt had finished finishing feeding the digimon and sat down next to everyone else.

"I can't believe we've already run low on so many supplies and it's only been a few days," Izzy said. As soon as they got back Joe had taken two sticks and wrapped them snuggly around his wrist to make a simple brace. Even with the brace stabilizing his hand any small movement caused some pain to shoot down his arm. Unable to use his stronger hand, Izzy was forced to use his less coordinated hand to eat.

JP watched his friend intently, occasionally rubbing his right wrist. Izzy's injury caused his wrist to sporadically give out a dull throb so he knew that it was still bothering him no matter how much the other boy tried to hide it. "Let me see your wrist later, maybe Beetlemon can do something. I mean if Takuya can glue Tai back together your wrist shouldn't be too difficult."

"JP, that's rude. Tai was in real danger," Zoe scolded through a mouthful of food. JP turned to apologize to Tai. But Tai wasn't at all offended with his comment and waved it off.

Takuya watched at the amazing speed that Zoe was shoveling down her share of food. He wasn't the only one. Davis mirrored his slightly shocked expression, while the others tried be polite and tried to avoid staring.

"Wow Zoe, you can really eat huh?" Davis laughed. Some of the older boys looked on worriedly; most girls don't react well when you comment on their eating habits or their weight. And Zoe had a temper similar if not worse than Yolei's.

But Zoe only chuckled and replied, "Well, I am a growing girl."

"I'm sure you are the way you put away food. She can eat twice as much as an average person," Takuya mumbled under his breath. Unfortunately, he was sitting right next to Zoe, allowing her to hear what he said very clearly. Did it just get colder in here?

"Are you calling me fat!?" Zoe screamed and turned to face Takuya. Someone should tell Takuya that girls can be really sensitive about their weight. They two of them began bickering back and forth; the volume of their voices began to accelerate.

"Awesome! Dinner and a show." Gomamon pushed his bowl around so that he could watch the two warriors argue while he finished off his food. The other partner digimon laughed and followed his example.

"Does this normally happen?" Cody whispered to Kouichi, who was watching his friends with an amused expression.

After chewing his food he responded, "Them arguing you mean? It's become so common that we don't bother trying to separate them anymore."

"That's because Takuya's too stupid to know when to shut up," Kouji interrupted.

"I wouldn't talk," Tai laughed, "If he's not getting scolded by Zoe, he's normally arguing with you." Kouji glared at him for that comment.

"They seem fine to me, why weren't they fighting with us?" Kouji asked. Takuya and Zoe were standing nose to nose with each other, still arguing. Ken gave him a quick explanation of Zoe's mild concussion and how Takuya managed to heal Tai. Both twins' eyes widened a little on hearing the amazing healing abilities that they seemed to have.

"Is that what you wanted to try with Izzy?" Kouichi asked, looking at JP.

"Yeah, if he wants to try it." JP turned to Izzy.

"I don't see why not. The faster I can get this fixed the better," he said raising his bandaged hand for emphasis.

Their little conversation was interrupted as a strong gust of wind slammed open all the doors and windows, as well as knocking poor Takuya over. With Takuya flat on his back, Zoe stomped away giving out an angry groan as sheleft the room.

"I'll try to calm her down a little," Mimi said as she stood up and walkedout after the other girl. Sora and Yolei quietly followed.

Davis was still laughing his head off as he helped up a stunned Takuya. "Man, you sure have a way with girls."

Takuya glared at him. "I don't know why she was so upset. I was just saying she eats more than most girls I know. Seriously, she won that eating contest in the Autumn Leaf Fair," Takuya tried to defend himself but it only made Davis laugh more.

* * *

Zoe plopped onto one of the beds in the room that the girls were sharing and gave an exasperated sigh. She rubbed her temples as her head began to throb slightly. Exerting that much energy probably wasn't good for her concussion but Takuya deserved it.

A few moments later, Mimi walked into the room followed by Sora and Yolei. "How are you feeling?" Mimi asked quietly.

"Starting to get a bit of a headache, but not sure if it's from the concussion or from Takuya," Zoe groaned, throwing one of her arms over her face to cover her eyes. The other girls began giggling at her comment. "I know he didn't mean anything bad earlier but I guess…" she trailed off, unsure of how to finish her sentence, "I'm just tired of being treated as one of the guys. I want him to see me as a girl."

Sora smiled at her while Mimi and Yolei shared and evil look. "You like him don't you?" Yolei teased, a wide grin spreading across her face.

Zoe shot up from the bed, her face bright red. "What?! No I don't!"

"I mean you guys are always hanging out together and stuff," Yolei continued her prodding.

"I hang out with all my boys. It's not like I spend more time with Takuya than the others."

"Geez Zoe, share some of the hot guys with us," Mimi scolded. She tried to look angry with her hands on her hips and her cheeks puffed out, but the expression on Zoe's face was priceless causing Mimi and the other girls to start laughing.

"Sora," Zoe whined, turning to her friend for help, "Tell them it's not true."

Sora tried to stifle her laughing before responding, "Sorry Zoe, but it does kind of look that way. You're the only girl they seem to actually like spending time with. But you do spend that little extra time with Takuya."

"Well, that's fine, she can have him," Mimi interrupted. "I think the twins are cuter anyway."

"But Kouji seems so mean, and Kouichi can be really timid," Yolei said comparing the two, "I want a guy who can be tough but kind at the same time."

"You can be so picky," Mimi teased. She turned giving an evil grin to Zoe, who paled slightly, "So, what can you tell us about JP and Tommy?"

Zoe was horrified; this conversation just went from bad to worse. They continued their little 'boy talk', interrogating Zoe, trying to get her opinion of each boy and telling her how she was so lucky to be surrounded by her own little band of attractive guys. Luckily, Zoe was saved from the humiliating torture by the sound of more bickering coming from down the hall.

"But it wasn't my fault!"

"Just do it."

All four girls turned their heads toward the door curiously. Before they could even get up to look outside**,** the door was thrown open and Takuya fell through onto the floor with an irritated looking Kouji standing in the doorway.

"You didn't need to push me," Takuya grumbled, rubbing the back of his head. Looking up he felt a bit intimidated with all four girls staring at him. "Um, well I'm sorry if I insulted you in anyway." He shut his eyes tightly expecting her to blow up again. A few minutes was definitely not enough time for her to cool off, but Kouji was fed up with his complaining and dragged him to the girl's room.

"I'm sorry too. I guess I was just being a bit over sensitive," Zoe apologized. Takuya's jaw dropped, even Kouji raised an eyebrow in surprise. They knew their friend could hold a grudge if she was upset enough, and she seemed pretty upset.

Takuya stood up and dusted off his pants and shirt. "Well, that was easy. Why are girls so moody?"

Kouji rolled his eyes and began to walk away. "Dumbass." Takuya was about to respond to his insult but he was abruptly interrupted.

"WHAT?!"

Takuya paled at the sight of Zoe, Mimi, and Yolei all glaring at him. He could practically see the fire in their eyes. Sora just sighed as she watched the other three girls slowly advance on the helpless Takuya. "Just what are we going to do with you, Takuya?"

* * *

Kouji left his friend to deal with the angry harpies. At least Kouji was smart enough to keep comments like those to himself, unlike certain people he knew. He headed back to the cafeteria where the others were staying at. Even if everyone was done eating, they hadn't bothered in migrating to a different room.

They turned toward the door as Kouji walked back in. "So, is it safe?" Davis asked.

"No, he just made them more upset," Kouji replied. The other boys in the room either laughed or shook their heads at the poor boy's misfortune.

After they settled down, Izzy carefully removed the brace on his arm. It was still pretty swollen, and looked painful.

"So, anyone sure how Takuya healed Tai?" JP asked, taking a seat next to Izzy getting a closer look at his friend's injury.

"He kind of just put his hand over his body and started glowing," Kari tried to explain what happened even if none of them were exactly sure what was going on at the time.

"Like this?" JP placed his hand about an inch over Izzy's damaged wrist. He gathered his energy into his palm but was afraid to unleash it. Summoning his power to fight was easy, but how do you do it to heal people. What if he accidently electrocuted him instead?

'Relax JP,' Beetlemon instructed. 'Let the power out gently, I will guide it into Izzy's body and start to fix the break. Our energy should speed up the recovery process.'

JP trusted his partner and slowly let the stored up energy leak out of his hand. Small bolts of electricity leaped between his skin and Izzy's. Izzy jumped a little at the sensation. It felt like someone was poking his wrists with millions of tiny needles. It was more of a tickling sensation rather than a painful one.

The prickling feeling intensified as his bones began to stitch themselves back together. Izzy let out a hiss of pain when the bones made a clicking noise as the break closed. After a few minutes of intense concentration JP finally removed his hand and let out a deep sigh.

"How's it feel now?" he asked between tired pants.

Izzy clenched his fist and turned his hand slightly. "It still hurts a little, but I don't think it's broken anymore. Thanks so much!"

JP slumped over letting his head hit the table. "No wonder Takuya passed out after. That's pretty tiring."

"I think it's about time we all went to bed, it's been a long day," Cody suggested. Looking around they saw their partner digimon yawning slightly. Even their human counter parts looked ready to pass out. Tommy was slumped over on the table with his hat shading his eyes.

"I'm sure most of us need a day or two to recuperate before we take on another opponent. We can send the people that are feeling better out for supplies tomorrow," Matt said. Everyone stood up and began heading toward the rooms they've been staying in for the past few days. They managed to arrive just in time to save Takuya from being torn apart by the group of angry girls.

No one noticed the pair of beady eyes that watched them from within the shadows of the tree canopy.

* * *

When the lights in the room went out, DemiDevimon left his hiding place and flew as fast as he could toward his master's base. After maneuvering through the passageways created below the TV station, he reached the 'throne room'.

Myotismon sat comfortably in his throne awaiting the news his underling gathered. DemiDevimon landed and gave and awkward bow, "Lord Myotismon, I have finished scouting and bring good news. Those Legendary Warriors seem to live up to the stories and are pretty powerful. With the group of children that beat you the first time it looks like they managed to defeat Dragomon."

"And how is that good news," interrupted Myotismon. He sat up and bared his fangs at the little bat digimon.

DemiDevimon flinched slightly before continuing, "Well you see, most of them were wounded in the fight. They are going to be busy licking their wounds for a few days. And they were talking about running out of supplies so they are going to be breaking up into small groups tomorrow."

Myotismon leaned back into his throne, letting the new bits of information cycle though his mind. "That is interesting. I think it's time we visited those old friends of ours. Ready some of the troops for tomorrow."

"Yes, my lord." DemiDevimon flew out of the room and zipped down the halls.

Myotismon couldn't stop the feral grin from spreading across his face. "This is going to be fun."

**A/N: As the curtain falls on that battle a new one begins. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Took a break from all action and had them relax for a bit :P**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Breakfast that morning had used up the last of the food, not everyone was full but at least no one was starving. After the plates were cleared and the area cleaned, everyone sat down on one of the cafeteria chairs. They had no choice, the food was gone, the medical supplies were severely lacking, they couldn't stay held up in the school the whole time.

"As much as I don't like, it I'm going to need to go to the hospital for more things," Joe said.

"Take a few people with you, that way you guys can bring back more," Tommy suggested. "I'll go with you! Anyone else want to come?" Mimi and Sora offered to help, and Kouji shocked them by reluctantly agreeing to go.

"Five should be enough to carry back enough things to last us a while," Izzy said, "As well as providing adequate protection, we don't want to be wandering around defenseless."

"We should avoid conflict as much as we can. Most of us are in no condition to be fighting unnecessary battles," Kouji pointed out. They all agreed to this, everyone had made it out of the fight with Dragomon in one piece but they wouldn't be at full strength for a while.

"But more importantly," Veemon interrupted, "What are we going to do about food?!" Veemon clutched his already grumbling tummy to emphasize his point. They chucked at Veemon's foolishness.

"We're getting to that," Tai said, "So, who wants to get us more grub?"

Takuya and Davis immediately raised their hands. Armadillomon began to nudge Cody's hand hinting to him that he wanted to get more food. Chuckling at his partner, Cody gently rubbed his head and offered to help.

"We can take some stuff from my family's store," Yolei began, "My parents are probably going to be really upset but I think it's better than stealing from random people."

"Thanks Yolei, we'll try and pay you guys back sometime," Izzy thanked her. It may be a few years for them to get enough money to pay Yolei's family back the way they seem to plough through food. Isn't saving the world payment enough?

They were going to need a big group to carry back enough food to last them a few days. In the end Takuya, Davis, TK, Yolei, Matt, Cody, JP and Kouichi agreed to go. Zoe, Izzy, Tai, Kari, and Ken where going to stay back.

Zoe, Izzy, and Tai agreed to stay back and focus on recovering from their injuries. Kari and Ken wanted to stay back in case they needed any help with anything. It took a little convincing but Tanemon and Patamon finally gave in and would wait at the school.

"But I haven't been doing anything in forever why do I have to stay back," Patamon grumbled. "I'm all better now, see." Patamon began to fly circles around the group. No one wanted to point out that the speed he was flying was only about a 1/3 of his normal speed.

"The wound may have closed up, but the muscles are still weak and tender," Joe tried to explain."You should be as good as new by tomorrow."

TK plucked his partner out of the air and held him in his arms, making Patamon pout. "If you stay here today I promise that you can do whatever you want tomorrow."

"Fine," Patamon gave in.

"Don't worry Patamon, we'll keep you company," Minomon said from Ken's arms. Minomon and Tanemon were still a little sore from the battle yesterday. Mimi didn't really want to leave her partner behind, but she wanted her to rest and get better. And being as little as she is she wouldn't be able to carry much anyway.

"I'll check in with Gennai to see how he and the other digimon are doing," Izzy said, "if we're lucky maybe he'll have some good news."

"Good luck everyone," Tai waved as he started walking toward the exit, "make sure to bring me back something nice." With that wonderful farewell the rest of the group stood up and began breaking up into their respective groups. They each made sure to bring an empty bag to load up with goodies.

* * *

The largest group headed toward Yolei's family's department store. Armadillomon and Veemon were talking about their favorite snack. "My parents are going to kill me," Yolei groaned, "they're going to eat the whole building." By now the rest of the partner digimon had joined in the conversation, throwing in their favorite things to eat.

"Maybe if you're lucky they might leave the shelves and a few wrappers," JP joked. As the store came into sight, the digimon cheered and ran towards the entrance.

"We should probably make sure that they don't eat everything, the others need food too," Takuya chuckled.

Davis ran after the group of anxious digimon that had already reaches the shelves filled with different packages of food. "Hey! Leave some for me!"

By the time the rest of the kids got there, the floor was littered with discarded wrappers and knocked over items. Yolei's face paled a little at the sight.

TK whistled to get the hungry digimon's attention. "Don't forget we're getting food for everyone else too. This is going to need to last us a few days."

Murmurs of 'Oh yea', and 'I forgot' came from the digimon as the stopped devouring everything in sight. The kids pulled the empty backpacks from their shoulders as the digimon began to walk over to them with arm loads of food.

"We should probably hit up a grocery store too," Kouichi suggested, "The stuff here is alright, but I think it would be good to get some real food, not just snacks." The others agreed as they began leaving the close-to-empty department store.

"We're probably going to need more things other than food," Cody suggested, "We should probably grab some batteries, bath things, and other essentials."

Yolei's store had a few of those kinds of items but not enough. "Good idea, there's another store a little ways down the street that has a ton of different things." Yolei pointed down the street, directing them to their next stop.

As they neared their next destination, an enormous blob of goo landed a few feet in front of them. They jumped in surprise and were quickly revolted by the smell.

"I think I'm going to throw up." Gabumon quickly covered his mouth with his paws while his face began turning green.

"Hey! Don't face me!" Veemon quickly backpedalled and waved his arms in front of him. Everyone else looked around franticly to see where the attack had come from. They saw a group of angry Pumpkinmon followed by a few Raremon.

The Raremon reared their heads back and began to lob more blobs of who-knows-whatat them. Everyone immediately began running, not wanting to get hit by the gross green colored goo. And by the looks of the disintegrating buildings and sidewalk, it was acidic too.

The Raremon had stopped their attack and were crawling their way towards them. Leading the charge, the Pumpkinmon ran far ahead of the slow moving Raremon. Today was supposed to be a time for them to rest and recoup but it wasn't turning out that way.

"Those guys are fast, I don't think we can out run them," TK panted. He was right, even if the Raremon were slow the Pumpkinmon were amazingly quick.

"Then let's take them out fast." Takuya skid to a stop and turned to face the enemy digimon. The others followed his example.

In a flash the advancing Pumpkinmon clashed with the newly evolved partners as well as three Legendary Warriors. The Pumpkinmon proved to be more of an annoyance than a real threat. They would run in zigzag patterns to avoid attacks. When anyone got in close for an attack the Pumpkinmon would hop away, just out of reach.

Because of their size, the Pumpkinmon were a difficult target, but on the plus side their attacks were a joke. When they weren't running, they were throwing massive sized pumpkins at them. The attacks were easily countered and simply exploded into little pieces when they made contact with another attack. If the attacks did manage to get through it didn't hurt them at all.

One of the few pumpkins that got past their own volley of attacks was easily caught by Flamedramon. At first, he stared confused at the pumpkin sitting harmlessly in his hands. Three of the Pumpkinmon stopped and stared at him unsure of what to do; no one had caught their attack before. Flamedramon looked up at the three Pumpkinmon who cocked their heads to the side in confusion as they watched him.

Flamedramon threw the pumpkin back at the three digimon. Their eyes widened as the squash got closer to them. At the last moment, they let out loud screams and scattered. Flamedramon couldn't hold back his laughter at the pathetic digimon.

By now the Raremon had caught up to them and had begun showering them with disgusting globs of acidic goo. This attack was way more deadly; they had to be careful about these.

"I don't know about you guys but I don't want to get near them," Beetlemon complained, "I can smell them from here." The others agreed, the smell of one Raremon was bad enough, but a group of six made the smell overwhelming.

"How can the Pumpkinmon handle standing so close to them?" Matt asked.

"They have pumpkins for heads, maybe they don't have noses," suggested Davis. He received weird looks from the group, but no one could come up with a better answer.

The Raremon were so slow, making them easy targets. They were bombarded with many different long range attacks. Their rotting bodies were not able to withstand so many attacks. They wouldn't be able to last long under this kind of pressure.

The way this fight was going they were in no immediate danger; it was more of a nuisance than anything else.

* * *

The group that was heading toward the hospital still hadn't reached their destination. Unfortunately for them, the walk to the hospital was much longer.

The journey was on the quiet side, most conversations only lasted a few sentences before falling to silence again. Gomamon was sick of the quiet and began to tell jokes. Most of them were bland and not very amusing. This lasted for a few minutes until Kouji got fed up and told him to shut up. Gomamon quickly retorted, telling him that he just didn't have a sense of humor.

Tommy figured he might as try for a sensible conversation and began to question Joe about some of the things they would need. "So what kind of things do you need to get? I'm assuming we're getting more than just bandages."

Tommy was right; Joe began rambling on about different medical supplies and their specific uses. After a while he began slipping into doctor mode. He began to describe different ailments and what it could be treated with, whether it was a cold or a sprain. He began to subconsciouslyuse more medical terms, confusing everyone else.

He was so into it that the others didn't even bother to stop him. They listened to him talk the rest of the way there, even if they had actually stopped paying attention a while back.

There was no use splitting up, no one else besides Joe really knew where everything was. So instead, they moved as a group from room to room picking up all the things they needed. Joe made sure to grab different kinds of medicines just in case someone got sick.

After their bags where stuffed they got ready to leave.

"I think we got everything, hopefully this will last us a while." Joe began looking in each bag, double checking all the items. He felt better now that he had everything he needed to make sure his friends werekept safe.

With bags full of the much needed items, they left the hospital and began the long walk back to the school.

"I hope the others got some food, I'm getting hungry," Gomamon complained.

"I just hope that they left some for us," Biyomon said.

Gomamon looked at her in horror. "They wouldn't eat it all! Would they?" He looked at Joe for confirmation. Joe just looked away from his partner and shrugged. Gomamon's jaw dropped and he scurried away, running ahead of them. "Hurry up, before all the food is gone!" Biyomon flapped her wings harder and flew after him. The others began walking at a much faster pace to keep up with the two digimon.

Seeing that they were following him, Gomamon turned back around and began running again. Suddenly the ground began shaking, knocking them all off their feet. The only one spared was Biyomon, who was hovering in the sky looking at them as they all lay on the ground.

"Sora, are you alright?" She asked as she landed next to her partner.

"I'm fine," Sora answered as she sat up carefully. She looked around, checking to make sure the others where alright. No one looked hurt, just a bit rattled. A loud roar caused them to jump.

The source of the noise came from a group of fast approaching digimon. It was an evenly mixed group of Fugamon and Minotarumon. The Minotarumon were large humanoid-ox creatures with some kind of metal contraption in place of their left arms. Fugamon looked exactly like Orgemon, except that they were orange.

One of the Minotarumon raised its metal arm and slammed it into the ground. Enormous tremors shook the ground, almost knocking them off of their feet again.

"Let's get out of here. We got what we came for," Kouji said as he helped pull Mimi to her feet. No one argued with him. They were vastly outnumbered, and Tanemon had stayed behind worsening their disadvantage. But even if she did come with them, they didn't stand a chance.

Now that everyone was on their feet, they turned around and started running. But the larger digimon were steadily gaining on them.

"Can you slow them down?" Joe asked Tommy between breaths. Tommy nodded and took a deep breath. He quickly turned around and exhaled, they could see the white mist flowing out of his mouth. A large path of ice covered the surface of the street. The ice stretched from once side of the street to the other and extended ten feet wide.

"Awesome job Tommy," Sora cheered, "That should slow them down for a bit." As expected, the first few digimon stepped on the sheet of ice and immediately slid. The others didn't have time to stop and either crashed into their fallen comrades or tried to jump over them. The one that tried to get over them only ended up landing on the ice and slipping.

It looked like they were in the clear, the digimon that were chasing them were struggling to stand up. The ones that managed to get to their feet took one more step and fell back over. The humans watched in amusement at the sad predicament of their chasers.

"What's that?" Gomamon shouted. The others looked to see what had caught Gomamon's attention. A line of weird black and purple teddy bear looking creatures moved into the street to block their way.

They looked like an amateur tried to sew them together. Large stitches could be seen holding the bodies together. At first they thought it was extra stuffing sticking out of the badly made stitches, but looking closer it was actually metal spikes sticking out of them! Blades stuck out of their bodies resembling horns and claws. To sum up their creepy appearance, they had a grey tube that covered their mouths and the other end was connected to their hearts.

At first, there were only a few of them, but more and more Porcupamon filed into the street. Turning back around, they saw the Fugamon crawling over the ice on their bellies, kind of like really ugly penguins. They were cornered. Even with the horrible odds, they had to stand and fight their way out.

Gomamon and Biyomon evolved to try to protect them. Biyomon was only able to make it to champion while Gomamon reached his ultimate level. Tommy spirit evolved into Kumamon and ran in front of them to join the other digimon.

Kouji growled in frustration, without Kari or Matt around that meant no Lobomon. He summoned two swords of light and took a defensive stance. Zudomon and Kumamon faced off against the Fugamon and the slowly approaching Minotarumon. On the other side, Kouji made sure to stand between the others and the Porcupamon while Birdramon hovered in the air above them.

The Porcupamon slowly began to walk toward them. They swaggered with each step, they seemed almost lifeless with their 'X' shaped eyes. Extremely unnerved Kouji fired a bolt of light at one of the approaching bears.

It didn't even try to dodge; the attack hit it directly in the chest making it topple over. It didn't move once it hit the ground, but it didn't burst into data either. The other Porcupamon stopped and looked down at the one that still lay unmoving on the ground. They shuffled closer, inspecting it.

Slowly, they backed up and turned to face the humans again. Suddenly, they charged. They made no sound, but their flailing arms were enough proof that they were angry. "Great job Kouji, now they're mad," Mimi scolded. Kouji ignored her and began shooting more beams of light at the bears.

Above them, Birdramon attacked with a 'Meteor Wing', causing massive fireballs to rain down. Even if their numbers were dropping from Birdramon's attacks the oncoming digimon kept charging forward.

On the other side of the street, Zudomon was doing well fending off the Fugamon that made it across the ice. He was able to knock a few of them away with each swipe of his massive hammer. The Fugamon tried to stay out of reach and attack the ultimate digimon with mini hurricanes created from swinging their clubs. Zudomon's hard shell protected him from the hurricanes and he countered by sending strikes of his 'Voltage Hammer' at them. Kumamon stood next to him holding his gun; his targets were the Minotarumon.

The large minotaur digimon were pissed, they gave up trying to cross the ice and opted for destroying it. They pummeled the ice with their 'Earthquake Drill', causing the sheet of ice to crack and shatter. While they were focused on their work, Tommy tried to slow them down with snowballs to the face. Because most of them already had very little balance on the slick ice, as soon as Kumamon's attacks hit them, they were knocked back to the ground upsetting them even more.

They were holding off well on this end, keeping the enemy at bay. But the other side was starting to have some difficulties. The Porcupamon had finally reached Kouji and Birdramon and were proving hard to handle. The blades and spines sticking out of them were extremely sharp. Kouji blocked and attack from one of the bears with his sword.

They were proving to be tougher than they let on when Kouji could feel himself getting pushed back. Not able to beat the thing in strength Kouji sidestepped, causing the bear to tumble past him. While the Porcupamon flew past him one of the spikes sticking out of his body caught his sleeve and tore it. Assessing the damage, he was glad it only caught his clothes rather than his skin.

Birdramon's fireballs littered the ground leaving batches of fire behind. She tried to swoop down to catch the bears in her talons. The first few times it worked, she lifted them up into the air and throwing them back down to the ground. But the Porcupamon caught on fast.

The next time Birdramon swooped down for an attack, the bears where ready. They scattered as her talons neared the ground. Before she could lift back up into the air they jumped at her, the barbs on their bodies digging into her skin.

She shrieked in pain and bent her head down to pluck them out of her legs like annoying thorns. Once they were removed, she made sure to light them on fire before they hit the ground.

"Keep it up guys, you're doing great!" Joe cheered. A shocked gasp caused him to whirl around. Mimi and Sora had just collapsed. Joe quickly ran over to them to see what caused their sudden collapse. Kneeling next to Mimi, he quickly checked to see what was wrong. By the looks of it, she was just unconscious. But then he noticed the giant dart sticking out of her arm.

Looking over at Sora he saw the same kind of dart. He gently pulled the dart sticking out of her arm, examining it. Hearing a loud cackle, Joe looked up to see DemiDevimon. "Nighty night humans," the bat digimon taunted and threw another dart at Joe. He tried to avoid it by diving out of the way. But the dark still clipped his exposed arm making a small cut. Even if he didn't receive a full dose, Joe began to feel the effects right away. His mind was getting cloudy and he felt his eyes beginning to droop. That must be some powerful stuff in that dart for it to still have its intended effect even if he only got a small dose.

Joe was still alert enough to see DemiDevimon turn away and throw his next toxin loaded dart toward Kouji.

"Kouji, look out!" Joe tried to warn him, but it was too late. Kouji tried to turn around but the dart hit him in the back of the neck. Kouji immediately collapsed to the ground out cold. Now that Kouji was no longer fighting back, the Porcupamon waddled up to him and began to examine him. They tilted their heads back and forth starting at him curiously.

One of the bears raised a clawed paw, wanting to poke the unconscious boy. "Hey!" DemiDevimon shouted, "The master wants them in one piece don't touch them." The bears immediately backed up, with their heads and shoulders drooped as if the bat digimon had physically lashed out at them.

Seeing what happened to her friends and partner, Birdramon let out and enraged screech and swooped down knocking over the Porcupamon that had crept closer to the unconscious humans. Kumamon whirled around to see what had Birdramon so upset. He gasped when he saw that his friends had collapsed. He saw a little bat digimon land in front of Joe and beginning to talk to him while waving a syringe in front of the boy's face.

He summoned his skis and slid over the ground as fast as he could. DemiDevimon heard the warrior of ice approaching and flapped his wings to get away.

When Kumamon finally reached Joe, he jumped off his skis and took out his launcher. He readied his gun and began attacking the bat digimon with his 'Blizzard Blaster'. DemiDevimon laughed as he swooped though the air dodging all of Kumamon's attacks. Tommy growled in frustration.

"What happened?" He asked, looking back at Joe. But the other boy was preoccupied. Joe was fumbling to open his D-Terminal. Whatever was in the darts was making it hard for him to focus.

Another tremor shook the ground causing Tommy to stumble. When he righted himself, he saw that the Minotarumon he had been distracting had cleared the ice and was now fighting against Zudomon. With Zudomon preoccupied the remaining Fugamon began charging at him, waving their clubs in the air horrible battle cries echoing from their open mouths.

Kumamon dodged the first few blows that came at him. The clubs making a heavy sounding thud as they struck the ground that he was standing on only moments before. He inhaled deeply before using his 'Crystal Breeze' to freeze two of the Fugamon to the cement. Before he had completed his attack something hard slammed into the side of his head, making him fall to the ground.

Tommy was surprised that he didn't immediately black out. But he was back to his human form before he hit the pavement. When he opened his eyes, everything was blurry. He wasn't moving but it felt like the ground was spinning beneath him.

He looked over at Joe to see that the older boy had finally passed out. His D-Terminal was held loosely in his hands. Tommy hopped that whatever Joe was trying to send went through. Tommy could hear heavy footsteps nearing him. He slowly adjusted his head to see the Fugamon approaching him. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Fugamon's clawed hand reaching toward him.

**A/N: Just in case anyone was wondering I did not make up any of these digimon. I get all my information from digimon wiki. I just go through the list until I see someone I want to use. Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**A/N: First off I am really sorry for the late update. And sadly, my busy schedule doesn't look like it's going to be clearing up anytime soon. I will try my best to update at least every other week. And I forgot to mention this last chapter...I finally hit over 100 reviews. I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed, and added this story to their favorites and follows. I hope you all will enjoy the rest of the story as much as you seemed to like the first bits :).**

**At the School**

The group that had went to retrieve some food had just reached the school a few minutes ago. The digimon let out cheers of joy as TK turned one of the bags upside down, spilling its contents all over the floor. There was a mad dash to grab the falling snacks.

"Geez, those guys eat more than you do," Takuya teased, elbowing JP in the ribs.

"I've lost a lot of weight I'll have you know," JP scowled at the other boy who still had a goofy grin spread across his face. JP's glare meant nothing to Takuya; he was used to Kouji's glare which was a bit more threatening. Takuya started to laugh which only seemed to upset the older boy more.

Meanwhile, Matt was talking with Izzy, Tai, and Ken. He explained the random appearance of the Raremon and Pumpkinmon. "After we defeated the Raremon, the Pumkinmon panicked and ran away. After that we didn't come across anything else on the way back."

"That's strange, why would they just leave? What was their purpose for attacking you?" Tai was trying to process the information Matt just shared with them. It didn't make much sense to attack them, especially if they were just going to run away as soon as things got dim.

"We should be careful anyway," Izzy said, "It just might have been part of something bigger, let's just keep our guard up just in case." Matt and Tai nodded in agreement.

By then, everyone else came over and sat by them listening in on the conversation. TK noticed that there were a few people missing. "Hey, do you guys know where Kouichi went?"

"He said something about taking food to Kari and Zoe," Cody informed them. Cody had heard Kouichi asking Ken where the girls went. Apparently, Zoe wanted some fresh air so she headed for the roof. Kari didn't want her to be on her own, and decided to accompany her.

"Is he trying to get some brownie points or something? Kissing up to the girls like that is just going to make the rest of us look bad," Davis pouted. He should have thought about getting Kari some food first, now he missed his chance.

"Kouichi is just really considerate is all," Yolei said. "Maybe you can learn something from him, rather than turning into Takuya."

"Hey!" Both Takuya and Davis shouted.

"He's your clone, not mine." Takuya pointed at Tai, who couldn't stop the laugh from escaping.

"I'm no one's clone damn it! I'm way more special," Davis huffed and crossed his arms across his chest and turned away from them.

His comment caused everyone else to laugh and some of the digimon to choke on their food. "Yeah Davis, you're real special alright," Tai smiled at him.

* * *

Kouichi had managed to grab a few of the snacks before the digimon devoured them all. When he noticed that Zoe wasn't around, he asked Ken where she was. According to Ken, Zoe and Kari went to the roof for some fresh air. Since she had company, he made sure to snag some extra food for Kari and Gatomon.

Once he reached the roof, he saw the two girls leaning on the railing looking out over the city. Gatomon sat on the rail her tail swishing back and forth. Gatomon's ear twitched when the door squeaked as Kouichi opened it. She turned around and saw Kouichi approaching them with his arm's full of bags of snacks,

"Back already? That was quick." Gatomon jumped down and started walking over to him.

"Hey Kouichi, is that for us?" Zoe asked as she and Kari followed the cat digimon.

Kouichi kneeled down, spreading out the assortment of goodies he brought for them. "Yup, I made sure to save some before everyone else ate them all."

"That's so sweet, thank you," Kari smiled at him as she picked up a small bag of chips. Zoe ruffled Kouichi's hair playfully as she thanked him, making him blush slightly from all the affection he received from the girls.

While munching on a candy bar, Gatomon noticed that Kouichi wasn't eating anything. Silently she passed over another unopened candy bar. It slid over the ground until it bumped into his leg. Looking down, he picked it up and quietly thanked her.

"Anything interesting happen while you were out?" Zoe asked in-between bites.

"We were attacked by a few digimon," Kouichi started. At this, the girls' eyes widened. Kouichi continued before they could interrupt him, "It wasn't anything too dangerous. They ran away after we started beating them."

"As long as everyone is alright," Kari said quietly.

They chatted quietly for a few minutes as the finished off the food Kouichi had brought to him. After a while Kouichi began to drift away from the conversation taking place around him. He stared off into space ignoring the girls.

Concerned, Zoe touched his shoulder making him jump. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" Kari and Gatomon stayed quiet, observing the interactions between the two.

"I just have a weird feeling is all," he replied. He turned back to look at his friends and noticed that they were still watching him worriedly. Kouichi brought both his hands up and waved them in front of him, "It's probably nothing, don't worry." They didn't look convinced; but even he didn't believe what he said. He sighed and turned back to stare off into space.

"We should probably get back to the others now," Kari suggested. She gathered Gatomon in her arms and stood up. Kouichi and Zoe nodded, following the girl down the stairs.

* * *

When they reached the others, they had moved into the computer room. Some of the digimon opted to lounge around in the neighboring rooms to give their partners more space to talk. While everyone else was out, Izzy had gotten in contact with Gennai.

"When we were first going to search for you guys," he looked toward Takuya, "Gennai had come up with a program that will track digital signals in the human world. At the time there was a ton of bugs in it and it wasn't very reliable, but now he's made some adjustments to it and it should function properly now. I'm downloading it on my laptop so we can try it out."

"If that thing works we won't have to waste our time scouting the whole city looking for the enemy," Kari interrupted. Her voice caused everyone to turn toward the door to see the three of them entering the room.

"How are you feeling?" Yolei asked, walking up to Zoe.

"I'm much better now actually. I still don't really remember much about the fight yesterday, but at least the headache has gone away." Zoe rubbed her head for emphasis and smiled at them.

The girls found places to sit on the other side of the room, while Kouichi went to sit in the empty chair next to JP. JP smirked at the elder twin and elbowed him in the side. "Aren't you the ladies' man?" Kouichi just looked at him confused, and cocked his head to the side slightly. JP only chucked and shook his head, "never mind."

A beep from Izzy's computer alerted them of a new message. Izzy spun around in his chair to check who was trying to contact them. "It's from Joe," he informed the others.

"Ask him what's taking so long," Matt said, he was busy tilting his chair back, making it teeter on its two back legs with his hands clasped behind his head.

"This is odd," Izzy murmured. He leaned closer to the screen and scratched his head in confusion.

"What is it?" Cody asked, walking over to look over the other boy's shoulder. Looking at the message it made no sense at all. It started with a capital 'SO' followed by a few random letters. "What is he trying to say?"

Tai and Matt came over to look at the screen too. "We better check on them and see what's up." Tai said.

"Maybe it was just an accident. What if Gomamon just jumped on it or something?" Agumon spoke up. He didn't want them to get all worked up over nothing. Tai was supposed to be resting still.

"It won't hurt to check," Tai argued. Agumon agreed with that and nodded. Izzy had already sent a reply, but so far there was no response.

"Kouji isn't answering his phone." Kouichi said as the generic voicemail system could be heard coming from his phone.

"I'll try Tommy." Takuya whipped out his phone and punched in Tommy's number. After a few moments, he hung up. "He's not answering either. I'm starting to get worried."

"We should go look for them," Ken said standing up, "There's got to be a reason they're not answering. If it is just a false alarm there's no harm in escorting them back." Wormmon crawled up his partner's arm and nodded enthusiastically. After eating his weight in food, Minomon had enough strength to evolve back into his rookie form.

"Can I come? Mimi is still out there," Tanemon asked.

"Of course you can," Kari said standing up too.

"Then let's get going." Takuya jumped up and headed for the door. Kari, Ken, Davis, Kouichi, Matt, and followed him out. Their partner digimon and Tanemon rushed after them.

"Be careful," Izzy shouted after them.

Not wanting to waste time, Veemon and Gatomon evolved into their armor forms, Nefertimon and Raidramon. Kari and Kouichi climbed onto Nefertimon's back before she took off into the sky, and Davis and Ken got on top of Raidramon. Gabumon followed suit evolving into Garurumon and carried Matt and Takuya on his back.

* * *

They raced in the direction of the hospital, hoping that it was just a misunderstanding and that they were perfectly fine.

Kari remembered about Kouichi's nervousness earlier on the rooftop. She turned around to face him, "Don't worry, they're going to be alright." He nodded at her, but the worry in his face didn't go away.

As they rounded the corner, they saw a group of black things. "What's that?" Takuya pointed over Matt's shoulder. As they got closer they noticed that the black things looked like big teddy bears. They had their backs to them, focused on something in the center of their little circle.

When they got a few feet away from the bears, Garurumon stopped and snarled at them. Seeing the rows of razor sharp teeth the weird looking bear digimon immediately ran away into the alleyways. They gasped when a badly beaten Gomamon and Biyomon were revealed when the bears scattered. They both were covered in scratches and bruises. Their eyes were closed but they seemed to be breathing.

"What happened?" Ken asked as he knelt next to Gomamon. He gently petted Gomamon's head. The small digimon's eyes fluttered open. He looked around wearily his eyes glancing over each of their faces. But none of them was the one he wanted to see.

"Joe-" Gomamon gasped. His eyes fell closed again. Everyone else shared worried glances as Davis gently scooped Gomamon into his arms. Kari picked up Biyomon and cradled her safely in her arms.

"What were those things?" Davis asked, looking towards one of the alleyways that the bear digimon escaped into.

"Porcupamon, creepy little things," Raidramon growled, glaring in the direction the Porcupamon ran.

"Where are the others?" Matt asked worriedly as he looked down the road. Obviously something bad happened, they wanted to keep looking but Gomamon and Biyomon needed urgent care. "We should get these two to safety and come back and investigate more." Matt didn't like the fact that they were leaving their friends out there, but he felt like he didn't have a choice.

"NO!" Tanemon threw herself at Matt and gripped tightly onto his shirt. "We can't leave! We need to find Mimi!" Tears began to pour out of the small digimon's eyes. What happened to her partner? Was she hurt? She needed to get to her no matter what!

Matt looked down at the crying digimon. He didn't know what to do. "We'll stay back," Ken spoke up. "Davis and I can look around and see what we can find." Davis nodded in agreement.

"Thank you. Stay safe, and make sure to check in with us, even if you don't find anything at all." Matt said. He walked over to Davis and took Gomamon from him. Once Davis's arms were free, Tanemon jumped over to the other boy.

"I'm coming too," she said determinedly. No one argued with her. Davis and Ken climbed back on Raidramon and raced off, heading farther into town.

"We better get these two somewhere safe," Kouichi said. Praying for their missing friend's safety, the rest of them headed back toward the school.

Raidramon ran as fast as he could look for anything that didn't seem right. So far nothing seemed strange. "There's no way they just got up and disappeared," Davis growled. The roads were clear, nothing out of the ordinary.

Finally they came upon the battle scene. The ground was burned black, some small patches of flame still flickered over the pavement. There were also craters and cracks in the ground, proof that a very serious fight had taken place only moments ago.

"Whoa," Ken and Davis gasped as they looked on in amazement. Looks like Gomamon and Biyomon put up a real fight before they were finally taken down. Raidramon had slowed down taking cautious steps farther onto the battlefield.

Before anyone could stop her, Tanemon jumped down and started running ahead of them. She quickly looked left and right for any signs of her partner before taking a few hops forward and repeating the process. There was no one there, the place was deserted. Finally giving up, she slumped to the ground, the leaves on her head drooping in sadness.

"We'll find them, don't worry." Davis walked up to the small digimon and tried his best to comfort her. It didn't work, Tanemon only burst into tears.

"It's all my fault!" Tanemon sobbed, "If I had been there I could have saved Mimi!"

"By the looks of it even if you were here it wouldn't have made a difference. At least this way you weren't hurt." Ken said. Tanemon continued to cry non-stop. Davis and Ken shared a sad glance unsure of what to do with the upset digimon.

"We should get back and tell the others," Davis said quietly. He then went to go pick up Tanemon, who didn't move since she started crying. When Davis climbed back onto Raidramon, Tanemon managed to stifle her bawling to occasional sniffles. Davis gently rubbed her head while Ken climbed on in back of him. Once everyone was secured, Davis instructed his partner to take them back to the school as fast as he could.

* * *

When they arrived back at the school JP, TK, and Yolei were waiting outside for them. Judging by the sad expressions and Tanemon's watery eyes, they could already tell that they couldn't find them. Raidramon turned back into Veemon, as the neared the school doors. He was panting slightly from the run, but he chose not to complain about it; now wasn't the time. Davis thanked his partner while they entered the building.

"Nothing?" JP asked, hopping for at least a shred of good news.

Ken shook his head sadly, "We found where they fought. There were fires, and the ground was all torn up, but there was no sign of them. How are Biyomon and Gomamon?"

"They're still unconscious. Unfortunately, without Joe we're limited to basic first aid knowledge." Yolei let out a deep sigh. "We took care of them the best we could, but they're still in pretty rough shape." The rest of the walk to the others was eerily silent.

Upon entering the room all eyes turned to them. Davis and Ken just shook their heads, unable to meet the eyes of the others. The only noise was Tanemon's soft sniffles.

Kouichi sat in the corner holding his head in his hands, running his hands through his hair in aggravation. Zoe sat next to him wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "I'm sure he's alright," she whispered. Kouichi didn't respond he just kept his head down.

"What do we do now?" TK asked.

"We should go look for them, that's what!" Takuya shot up from his chair. His fist was raised, ready for a fight.

"We don't know where to start or what actually happened," Izzy interrupted, "Rushing in right now would be dangerous. Our best bet is to wait for Gomamon and Biyomon to wake up. Hopefully, they will be able to answer some of the questions we have."

"Are you telling me, that until then the only thing we can do is sit around and do nothing while our friends are missing!?" Takuya argued. Izzy looked away unable to meet his gaze.

Matt stood up and put a hand on Takuya's shoulder, "I know it's hard, but we can't risk more of us getting hurt." Takuya shrugged his hand off angrily. He knew Matt was right, but he hated waiting around knowing that his friends were in danger. "We're all anxious. Just wait a little longer." Matt's voice trailed off at the end. It was difficult for all of them; he was trying to convince himself as much as Takuya.

Silence fell upon the group. But it was quickly broken by Tanemon, who couldn't hold back her tears any longer as she burst into another round of wailing.

* * *

Tommy's head was pounding. Just how hard did that Fugamon hit him? He groaned and raised his hand to rub his temple. His fingers met something hard and crumbly, dried blood? No wonder his head was pounding.

"Tommy's awake!"

He felt someone brush the bangs delicately away from his face. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw Mimi kneeling next to him. It was dark; the only light seemed to come from a few candles from outside their cage. Wait, cage? They were locked up in a large cell, the ground was bare, not even a rug to sit on. Looking out, there was a table and chair with three candles sitting on it. Next to the table was a heavy looking door, probably locked.

"What happened?" Tommy asked, his voice coming out scratchy from lack of use. Tommy held his head as he slowly tried to sit up.

"We were captured," Joe said. He went over and helped Tommy sit up. "You were hit pretty hard. How are you feeling?"

"I'll be fine." Truthfully, his head was killing him, but they had much larger problems to deal with. "How'd you guys get caught? Looks like I'm the only one to get bashed in the head." Looking around he saw that Sora and Kouji were sitting against the far wall.

"That little bastard injected us with something that knocked us out," Kouji growled, rubbing the back of his neck where DemiDevimon's needle had sunk in.

"From what we could get from the guards, they just abducted us and left out partners behind," Sora filled him in. "I hope Biyomon is okay."

"Do you know where we are?" Tommy asked. The others shook their heads sadly.

"That's not the worst of it," Joe began, "While we were still knocked out they took our Digivices and D-Terminals." Tommy immediately reached into his pocket to check for his phone. Sure enough, it was gone.

"What do we do now?" Tommy asked quietly. Sora and Mimi shared a worried look and Joe looked down toward his lap.

"We escape that's what," Kouji said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He had his head turned away from them facing the bars of their cell.

"We don't know anything about our captive," Sora stated, "We need to think this out carefully. I'm sure the others will be here to rescue us soon." Her face brightened up at the thought of their friends.

"I'm not one to wait around and be rescued," Kouji glared. He stood up and pushed off the wall and slowly stepped toward the bars. He raised his right arm away from his body as small particles of light gathered in his palm. The bits of light solidified to form Lobomon's sword. Kouji gripped the newly formed sword in both hands and took a swipe at the bars.

Rather than slicing through the metal, his sword bounced violently back. A dull thud echoed through the room. Kouji stumbled backwards, the sword fading from his hands.

"Wow," Mimi said amazed, "That must be some really strong metal." Kouji walked up to the bars to inspect the damage. To his amazement and horror, there wasn't any damage, not even a dent.

"It looks like we don't have a choice. We're stuck here," Joe sighed.

"Damn it!" Kouji slammed his fist into the bars in frustration. The only thing that did was making him flinch in pain.

"Oi! Keep it down." A grumpy looking Pumpkinmon waddled into the room holding a tray with little round covered containers on it.

Mimi stomped up to the bars and gripped them tightly, "Let us out of here right now!" she shouted.

"Pfft, as if I actually would," the Pumpkinmon sneered, "Here's some food, not like you deserve any." He pushed the individual containers and some chopsticks through the bars and stood back staring at them. Sora walked over and opened the cover of one of the containers. The bottom was full of rice with pieces of what looked like beef, and picked vegetables placed neatly on top.

It certainly looked good, but what if their captor had poisoned it. The others looked at the food warily sharing her thoughts.

The Pumpkinmon was getting angry. "Just eat it already!"

"How do we know it's safe?" Sora asked him.

"If the master wanted to kill you he would have done so already. If you want to starve then fine!" the Pumpkinmon reached through the bars to take back the food he brought. But a small beam of light shot toward his hand, hitting the ground only few inches away from it. The Pumpkinmon let out a squeak of surprise and fell backwards, holding his hand to his chest. He took a few deep breaths before standing up to glare angrily at Kouji, who was leisurely leaning against the wall.

"Your mean," he sniffled, eyes beginning to water. "I'm telling!" With that the Pumpkinmon ran out of their room slamming the door. They stared after him, no one expecting a reaction like that.

Tommy reached for a bowl as he chuckled at Kouji's shocked expression. "Look what you did, you made him cry." Sora and Mimi giggled. Kouji just scoffed and sat down next to them. Sora passed a container and chopsticks to each of them. They ate in silence mulling over the situation.

"So why did they capture us if they didn't want to kill us?" Mimi asked.

"We're the bait," Kouji said, "They may be trying to lure the others out. He said something about a master, any ideas of who that is?"

"Myotismon," Sora said, she stopped eating and placed her chopsticks on the edge of the container, hovering over her half eaten food. "The other day we saw his bats and the fog, it's got to be him."

"Great," Joe murmured.

"What do we do now?" Mimi asked, "They took our Digivices and phones so we can't contact everyone."

"We need to keep calm and think of a plan. The guards don't seem stupid, maybe we can trick them into telling us where we are," Tommy said enthusiastically.

"And then what?" Joe looked at him, "Then how are we supposed to get that information to the others."

Tommy blinked at him, and scratched his head. "I haven't gotten that far yet."

**A/N: Hope everyone liked this chapter. I tried to add some humor in to ease the angst :P**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Izzy was busy typing frantically on his computer, trying out the tracking program from Gennai. Everyone else was on edge. There were small conversations going on here and there, but they were to merely break the suffocating silence that would fall over them as soon as the talking stopped.

Takuya was furiously pacing back and forth in front of the door way. Most of the kids had taken to watching his movements. "Will you stop that?!" Matt yelled. Takuya's constant pacing was driving him crazy.

Takuya stopped and turned to glare at him, "I need to do something. I don't know how you can all just sit there." He felt like his body was on fire. He wanted to get out there and start looking, fight someone, anything but idly sit around.

"Hey, relax guys. Don't fight," Tai stood up to stand between them. Takuya turned his glare from Matt to Tai.

"Relax? How can I relax when our friends are in danger!?"

"Rushing in blindly will only get more of us in danger," JP stepped in. "I know how you feel Takuya; just try to wait a bit longer." Three on one, Takuya was outnumbered.

"Fine!" He slammed the door open and stomped out. Tai and Davis looked on sadly, wanting more than anything to help the others too. Matt sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

JP stood up and headed out the door. "I'm going to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Tai nodded and followed JP. Not wanting to be left out, Davis ran after them.

"Is he always like that?" Cody asked.

"Yeah, he will go through any lengths for his friends," Zoe smiled, "Not to mention, he's a total hot head." Zoe was still sitting next to a fidgeting Kouichi.

Ken sat next to him for moral support, while Zoe rubbed his back slowly. "Zoe there's no need for that I'm fine," Kouichi said, pushing her hand away gently.

Zoe put her hands on her hips defiantly and narrowed her eyes at the warrior of darkness, making him sink into his chair a little. "I know for a fact that you're not fine. Your brother is missing. I'm surprised that you're not out there with Takuya." Kouichi looked down. He definitely felt anxious, but he was trying to be reasonable. Their best bet was to wait, so he would do that.

"Kouji is strong; don't worry too much about him. He can take care of himself, as well as the others," Ken said quietly, trying to comfort the older boy.

Not expecting that from Ken, Kouichi's eyes widened. He smiled and thanked him.

He wasn't the only one extremely worried. He looked at Yolei who was holding a teary eyed Tanemon.

Tanemon felt like a failure. She imagined Mimi tied up and beaten. Tears began to trickle down her face and her sniffles became louder.

Yolei began stroking the plant digimon's head gently. "It's okay Tanemon; we'll get everyone back safe and sound." She spoke in a quiet soothing voice, but it did little to calm the distressed digimon. Tanemon shut her eyes tightly in an attempt to stop the tears and buried her face into Yolei's shirt.

Hawkmon sat next to his partner as she held the crying digimon. He was at a loss, unsure what to do, so he stood next to her silently.

X.x.X.x.X

Davis, Tai, and JP found Takuya in an open area near the soccer field. Veemon and Agumon followed slowly behind them. He was shooting small blasts of fire into the air. He was, quite literally, blowing off steam. His body looked extremely tense, his shoulders squared and his muscles taunt. He threw a punch into the air and a ball of fire erupted from his hand. It travelled quite a few feet into the sky before sizzling out.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Takuya lowered his fists and turned to look at his friends. "Sorry," he apologized after taking a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"Don't worry about it, everyone's on edge right now," Tai reassured him. "We just came to make sure you're alright."

"I can hold off a few attackers just fine," Takuya stated, puffing his chest out and crossing his arms.

"What he really means to say, is that we came to make sure you didn't do something stupid," JP said bluntly. Davis jabbed him sharply in the ribs when Takuya's ego quickly deflated as he glared at the warrior of thunder.

"I know that we're in a real bind right now," Takuya said, "I'm not about to ruin our chances by doing something reckless." He turned away from them. "No matter how much I want to." JP nodded, satisfied with Takuya's answer.

"I wish I could just breathe fire to relieve stress," Davis joked trying to lighten the mood. "That's so cool."

Takuya laughed a little, throwing a small fireball up into the air. "It does make me feel a lot better. It helps to get rid of all the pent up energy."

"It sure does," Agumon smiled, and fell backwards into the grass. He watched Takuya fire multiple balls of fire into the air with a peaceful expression on his face.

"Maybe if we ask nicely they can teach us how to breathe fire," Veemon said to his partner, making Davis laugh.

Tai and Davis plopped down in the grass as they watched Takuya continue to toss up small fireballs into the air. Bored, JP shot little bolts of electricity at the fireballs, causing them to explode. Soon they had their own miniature fireworks display. But their little moment of peace didn't last long.

"Hey guys!"

Looking back toward the school, they saw Cody and Armadillomon sprinting toward them.

"What's up Cody?" Davis asked. He and Tai stood up brushing the grass and dirt from their pants. Takuya and JP stopped playing with their elements and listened to the youngest boy's message.

Cody paused for a second to catch his breath, "Biyomon and Gomamon are waking up."

* * *

The boys raced back toward the school, eager to hear what the two digimon had to say. By the time they got back, everyone else had already gathered around the two semi-conscious digimon. Biyomon and Gomamon were resting on an overstuffed pillow. Gomamon was fussily rubbing his eyes and Biyomon was struggling to sit up.

"What happened?" Tai asked. Biyomon turned to face him and swayed slightly. Kari immediately grasped her shoulders to steady her. She closed her eyes again and slumped against Kari.

Gomamon was amazingly silent. He laid there, eyes focused on some random spec on the ground. He seemed so lost, they wanted to know what happened but no one wanted to force the poor digimon to talk.

"A bunch of digimon attacked us," Biyomon began. She began to shiver slightly recalling the memory. "We were vastly outnumbered and tried to escape. Then we got cornered and had no choice but to fight. But the fight was all a distraction. While we were distracted, DemiDevimon threw his darts at them."

At this point Biyomon started to cry. Gomamon finally perked up and finished recalling the event for them. "Whatever was in that thing knocked them out instantly. One second I was fighting the Fugamon and Minatarumon, the next they were all retreating carrying Joe and the others with them. We tried to chase after them, but we couldn't break through."

"You tried your best," Davis rubbed Gomamon's back, "That's all we can ask for."

"Do you have any idea where they were taken?" JP asked.

Gomamon and Biyomon shook their heads sadly. They were hopping that they had more information than that; unfortunately, they were back to where we started.

Three loud beeps came from Izzy's computer. "Finally!" Izzy shouted. He stood up quickly, knocking over his chair in the process. Poor Tentomon had to scamper out of the way before he got smashed by the falling furniture.

"What are you doing Izzy?" Tai asked.

"The tracking program Gennai sent is working." Izzy pointed to the computer screen. The monitor was showing a map of the city with red blinking dots covering it. "The red dots represent something that is giving off large amounts of digital signals. There are five areas where there's a bunch of them clustered together, my guess is that's where the others were taken."

Izzy pointed to each individual bunch of dots. "So we just need to pick a place and check it out?" Davis asked.

"That seems like a waste of time," TK argued, "What if we attack someplace and they aren't there?" He had a point. "If we pick the wrong place they can move more of their units to where they are really being kept, making it more difficult for us to rescue them."

"If we could only contact them, maybe they could give us a clue to where they are," Ken said wishfully.

They were interrupted when a loud explosion shook the building. "What the hell?" Matt shouted as he grabbed the edge of the table to keep it from falling over.

Cody and Kouichi ran over to the window to check out what was going on outside. "Oh man," Cody groaned.

Everyone else quickly made their way over to see what the two boys witnessed; an enormous amount of digimon had gathered outside. Many of them were survivors of past battles, like the Pumpkinmon, Minatarumon, and Fugamon. Accompanying them were Tuskmon, Bakemon, and a few Phantomon.

"Great, looks like they found us first," Tai said through clenched teeth. This wasn't good. Sure, they were in the process of planning an attack to save their friends, but a battle here was something that they couldn't win. "We need to get out of here."

"Seriously?! We can take them," Takuya argued. They were outnumbered yes, but weren't they always.

"No, we should save our strength for when we rescue the others," Tai said calmly. Takuya eventually gave in and agreed to run away. "Can you cause a distraction so we can sneak out the back unnoticed?"

"Sure. Kouichi can make a cover for us." Takuya and Kouichi both nodded.

While the others grabbed as many things as they could carry, Takuya headed the other way to confront the enemy. Seeing only one person exit the build the digimon began to laugh. Destroying the kids would be so easy.

They charged, causing the ground to rumble. But Takuya stood there, smiling. With a wave of his hand a wall of fire sprung up from the ground. The first few unsuspecting digimon got caught in the flames. They let out screams of pain and stumbled back from the fire. One or two of them were destroyed, but most of them escaped with major burns. The remaining digimon roared angrily, but stayed where they were, not wanting to approach the wall of fire.

"Later losers!" Takuya laughed. He quickly ran around the building to catch up to the others.

He found everyone else waiting for him around the back of the building. "My dad's house is big enough for us to stay in for a little while, so we're heading there," Kouichi said. Mostly everyone else lived in small apartments that were way too cramped for so many people and digimon. The twin's dad's house seemed like the best choice.

Unknowingly, two of the Phantomon found their way around the fire and followed Takuya. Seeing the children mostly defenseless they emerged from the surrounding foliage sickles raised to strike. Gabumon and Agumon first noticed the fast approaching threat and fired attacks of their own.

Their attacks did no damage to the ultimate digimon, but it hindered their sight slightly and alerted the others to the danger. Quickly shaking off the attack, the Phantomon dove in attempting to behead Takuya since he was closest to them.

A black fog surrounded them obscuring their vision. The two digimon continued with their attack, swinging their scythes where they last saw the boy. Their weapons cut through the air and the fog but nothing was there.

They looked around in confusion, normally fog and shadows didn't bother them. But this was different. They could barely see each other even if they were mere feet away. They hissed in frustration and headed back toward the other digimon who were still stuck behind the fire.

* * *

The poor souls that were captured by the enemy were now bored out of their minds. After they finished eating, they began brainstorming ideas on how to escape. So far they hadn't come up with anything.

They intended to interrogate the next guard that came by to pick up their empty food bowls. It's been an hour, and no one had come to check on them yet.

"So what are we supposed to do after we talk to the guard?" Sora asked, "It's not like there's any way we can get the information to the others."

"That's if we can even get anything out of them," Mimi said sadly as she slumped against the wall.

"Hey Kouji, I've been thinking," Tommy said quietly. Kouji was sitting against the back wall with his eyes closed but he wasn't sleeping. He opened his eyes to acknowledge Tommy when the younger boy came to sit next to him. "The spirits visited us first in our dreams right? Maybe they can do it again."

"But that was to talk to us, who knows if they can contact anyone else," Kouji said, shooting down Tommy's idea.

"There's no harm in trying. If it works then we actually have a chance to get out of here. And if it doesn't at least we tried something. "

"What are you two whispering about over there?" Joe asked. Sora and Mimi turned to look at the two boys.

"When all this first started our spirits visited us in our dreams to let us know what was going on," Tommy began to explain, "So, I was thinking that maybe our spirits can somehow talk to the others."

"You guys can do that?" Mimi asked in amazement.

"We're not sure, but we can give it a shot," Kouji said. He was still skeptical about the whole idea, but they hadn't come up with anything so far, so why not?

'It's a good theory, but we haven't exactly tried to contact other people,' Lobomon said. 'We'll try tonight and hope for the best.'

Their conversation was interrupted with the door opening. Instead of the Pumpkinmon a Bakemon floated into the room. "Hope you guys are nice and cozy," he taunted.

"Well, we could do with some blankets and maybe some pillows," Mimi began to ramble on about wanting different things to comfort her. Sora and Joe chuckled quietly while the Bakemon started confusedly at her, not expecting that kind of response.

"Um, well," it starched the back of his head, "I can try to see what I can do." The children gaped at him, was he taking her seriously. The Bakemon collected the empty containers and floated out the door.

"Is he really going to get those things for her," Kouji asked.

"Even evil digimon can't resist me," Mimi joked, flipping her hair over her shoulder for emphasis. A round of laughter echoed through the cell.

"Maybe you can ask him for the key too," Tommy suggested.

"Even he can't be that stupid," Joe chuckled. While they were still laughing and joking, the same Bakemon entered the room, his arms full of pillows and a few blankets.

"Here you go." The Bakemon began to pass the items through the bars, squishing the pillows to make them fit. "I took them from a different unit's room; I don't think they'll notice.

"Thank you so much," Mimi blew a kiss toward their captive.

"Don't you think she's laying it on a little thick," Tommy whispered to Joe, who merely shrugged. The Bakemon started blushing and brought his hands up to try to cover up his embarrassment. Well, whatever works.

"I hope you enjoy your stay," the Bakemon smiled.

"Does he think this is a hotel?" Sora said under her breath, making the others snigger.

"Our friends should be here to save us soon, so we won't be here long." Tommy smiled back at the ghost digimon.

Bakemon started to laugh, "I doubt it. The master has set up multiple bases so your friends won't be able to find you." This was way too easy.

"I don't recognize this place; is it new?" Joe asked, sincerely.

"Yes, we just finished it. It's right under the park, so there's no way your little friends are gonna find us." The Bakemon crossed his arms across his chest and lifted his head proudly. Myotismon should invest in some smarter minions.

"Your right they will never think to look there," Sora said. She turned around pretending to be depressed, while she was really trying to hide her smile.

"You guys better get used to being prisoners. I'll bring you some food in the morning, can't have you hostages starve to death." The Bakemon waved farewell and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"How did we get captured by guys that are so dumb?" Tommy asked sadly, shaking his head in disbelief.

"We should be lucky, we wouldn't have been able to get half as much information if our captives were smart," Joe said, "And DemiDevimon was playing dirty when he caught us."

"So, now all we have to do is wait and see if the spirits can get the message across," Kouji said. He wasn't too sure if this would work, but they needed it too. They had nothing else to try.

* * *

The trip to the twin's father's house was rather uneventful. They came across a few scouts along the way but they were quickly dispatched.

The house was pretty big, enough for everyone to have their own space without being overcrowded.

"I wish I had a house this big," Davis said as he walked through the halls with Veemon right on his heels.

"Your house is nice too," Veemon said. He liked Davis's homey little apartment.

"But if we lived in someplace like this then I could stay in the opposite side of the house from June," Davis laughed, "Then I won't be able to hear her squealing every time there's a hot guy on TV."

It's been a long, eventful, and exhausting day. It was barely an hour after sundown and already the partner digimon were sleeping. Most of them had found nice comfortable spots on the couches, while others chose to stay glued to their partners.

Like usual, Izzy was still typing away on his laptop, while everyone else was getting ready for bed. Hearing footsteps Izzy paused and looked up from his computer. He saw Kouichi walking through the living room checking up on everyone. Seeing that Izzy was still awake, Kouichi walked over and sat next to him, avoiding stepping on any sleeping digimon on the floor.

"You should rest it's been a long day," Izzy whispered. Ever since they got here, Kouichi has been doing an excellent job as host. He made sure that everyone was taken care of. All of them told him that he was doing unnecessary things, and that they were already grateful that he volunteered to let them use his house. But he continued to help out, bringing everyone drinks and just being a good host. He insisted that he was just being polite.

"Can't sleep," Kouichi responded. He certainly looked and felt tired, but his mind just wasn't shutting down. He had tried to distract himself with taking care of the others, but now that mostly everyone was asleep he was beginning to worry again.

He tried not to show it but he was afraid. He was so worried for his brother and his friends. Ever since the Digital World, he and Kouji have gotten extremely close. Thinking about the past before he had finally met his brother seemed awfully lonely. He didn't want to go back to that.

Izzy knew that the other boy was troubled; it didn't take a genius to know what was bothering him. "Tomorrow after everyone's awake we'll decide where we should start searching for the others. Those five areas should be a good place to start." Kouichi leaned over to see what Izzy was looking at on his computer.

It was the map he had shown them earlier that day. Five distinct areas stood out, those must be where most of the enemy's units were, the best place to hold captives.

"Then we better get a good night's rest," Kouichi said, "It's not going to be easy, fighting our way through that." As Izzy began to shut down his computer, Kouichi stood up and headed toward his room.

"I know you're going to do it anyway but, try not to worry. We'll do our best to rescue them." Izzy said.

Kouichi turned around before heading around the corner toward the bedrooms and smiled at Izzy. "Thanks. Good night."

* * *

Kari was having the most pleasant dream. She was currently at a park with all of her friends. The Chosen Children were sitting on the top of a huge hill beneath the branches of a sakura tree. They all wore smiles on their faces, as they conversed and ate their bentos.

She smiled as she silently listened to her friend's laughter. Looking down to her food, she saw a few of the sakura petals and landed in her food. She was working on picking them out when Gatomon snuggled next to her and peered over her arm looking longingly at her lunch.

Kari giggled and picked up a small piece of battered fished with her chopsticks and placed it into her partners waiting mouth. While Gatomon was happily munching on the food, something caught Kari's attention.

At the bottom of the hill there was a row of bushes that separated the park from the denser parts of the forest. Something was glowing through the leaves of the bushes. Leaving behind her partner and her friends she trekked down the hill. A few feet from the bottom, she stumbled and ended up tumbling down the hill. She burst through the bushes on the bottom, dizzy and disoriented.

"Oww," she groaned. She sat up slowly dusting the dirt and leaves from her clothes. Once she dubbed her clothes decent she stood up and began to search for where the light was coming from.

It didn't take her long to find the source. She gasped when she came across a white wolf. Its eyes glowed blue and the bright light was radiating from its body. It was sitting in the middle of a clearing, its tail swishing slowly back and forth. As she continued to stare at the magnificent creature, it cocked its head to the side, watching her.

Wait, she recognized this aura, she'd felt it before. It was the same as when she first met Kouji! This was crazy, what is going on?

"Kouji? Lobomon?" Kari asked uncertainly. At the mention of the two names, the wolf's ears shot up suddenly alert. It stood up and started running farther into the forest. "Wait!" Kari took off running trying to keep the animal in her sights.

At first she thought it was trying to run away from her, it was going so fast. But every time she would lose sight of it the wolf would pause looking over its shoulder. It was leading her somewhere.

"Where are we going?" She didn't really expect a response from the animal, but what could she do? She came to another large clearing; the wolf was sitting patiently in the center of the clearing. There was a large cluster of rocks jutting up from the ground next to the wolf.

Suddenly, it turned around and stepped into the stone, disappearing. Shocked, Kari ran up and inspected the rock. It didn't look like anything special; it appeared to be normal rock. She jumped in surprise when a deep 'uff' sound came from the space next to her.

The wolf had stuck its head back out wondering what was taking her so long. Now that it had her attention, it disappeared back into the rock. Kari tentatively raised her hand to touch the rock. She gasped when her hand fell through, as if there was nothing there.

Gathering her courage she stepped forward disappearing into the stone.

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait, my beta and I have been super busy. The last two chapters have been a bit slow, but the next chapter holds a lot of promise :)**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Kari shut her eyes tightly as she stepped through what appeared to be solid rock. She stumbled slightly as she exited the other side. She quickly looked around, taking in her new surroundings. It appeared to be some kind of hallway. It sloped down slightly, leading farther down into the earth. Gathering her courage, she began to travel farther down the hall.

The only thing that provided any light was small candle looking things that hung on the walls. The candles consisted of globs of goo that were mashed together. It was a little creepy. Kari was a bit nervous and regretting leaving Gatomon behind.

After a few minutes of walking, she came to an enormous open room. The ceiling of the room was a pretty high, probably to benefit the larger digimon that came and went. She noticed that there were many more hallways that varied in sizes.

"Which way?" she pondered out loud. Something tugged at her shorts making her jump. She looked down; the wolf had the edge of her pants in its jaws, tugging it slightly.

It growled softly and released her clothes. Now that it had her attention, the wolf turned away from her and headed off down the far right tunnel. Kari tentatively followed the slightly glowing animal. This hallway seemed to slope downwards, tunneling deeper into the earth.

"Um, excuse me," Kari spoke up quietly. The wolf turned its head to glance at her as it continued its steady trot. "Where are we going?"

The wolf simply blinked at her and turned back to face forward. Kari pouted a little, wanting a bit more of an explanation. She must be going crazy, trying to talk to an animal, if it was even one.

After about ten more minutes of walking down the same boring corridor and passing a few other hallways that seemed to branch off from the main one, they came to stop at a large metal door. The wolf walked up to the door frame, and sat down next to it.

"You want me to go in there?" she asked. The wolf nodded once, before fading away into nothingness. She was nervous earlier, but now she was downright scared. Her only companion had suddenly vanished into thin air. Not having any other options, Kari took a deep breath and grasped the handle.

The door wasn't as heavy as it looked, and opened rather easily. After pushing the door completely open, Kari took a few tentative steps inside. The room was dimly lit, and most of the space seemed to be blocked off by a row of bars.

"It's about time you got here."

Kari jumped not expecting anyone else to be here. Turning toward the sound of the voice, a huge smile spread across her face. Behind the bars were her missing friends. They were all asleep, except for one. Kouji sat against the far wall smirking at her.

Before anymore words were exchanged a cold blast of wind blew through the room. Kari and Kouji raised their hands to protect their face from the harsh wind. Once the wind stopped hundreds of bats flooded the room.

The massive amount of bats fluttered near the ceiling before simultaneously turning and dive-bombing Kari. She could see Kouji shouting at her as he griped the bars with both hands, through the fluttering bat wings, but she couldn't make out any of the things he was trying to say. All she could do was let out a frightened scream before her vision darkened.

* * *

Kari shot out of her sleeping position on the couch. Her sudden movement caused Gatomon, who was sleeping next to her, to tumble off the couch and land on Patamon. Kari was panting, her heart racing from her extremely realistic dream. But was it really a dream? She raised her hand to her thundering heart in a futile attempt to calm it.

"Kari, what's wrong?" Gatomon asked. "It's still so early." The sun was barely peaking over the horizon. The cat digimon rubbed her eyes as she sat up. Next to her Patamon grumbled quietly to himself and sat up.

"I saw the others," Kari said. At this bit of information, the two digimon were suddenly wide awake. "I followed this wolf thing into the forest area of the park. It showed me a secret hideout where the others were being kept."

"But it was just a dream wasn't it?" Patamon asked. Even if it was a dream, it felt so real to her. She truly believed that whatever that thing was, wanted to show her the location of her captured friends.

Unable to wait, Kari and the two digimon went to wake up Tai. At first, he was a little upset at being woken up at such an ungodly hour, but after hearing the frantic way his sister was talking, he quickly got over it.

Now that he was awake, Kari quickly began to retell her dream. "Whoa, slow down," Tai calmly interrupted her, "One more time." Kari took a deep breath and told him everything she saw, at a much slower pace this time. She watched her brother's facial expression, he doubted her.

"I really don't think it was just a dream," Kari tried to convince her brother. "I could just feel it." Tai still looked a bit skeptical, but he kept silent. Kari did always have a weird other worldly sense for things like those. Maybe she really was onto something.

"Let's talk to the others when they wake up," Tai finally said, "Maybe we can check out that park later today." Kari gave her brother a small smile and gave him a hug. She thanked him before standing up and making her way to the bathroom. Tai watched her until the door closed before lying back down. Maybe he could get another hour or so of sleep.

Tai was lucky to get another two hours of much needed rest. When he woke up again, he could hear a few others moving around in the living room and kitchen area. He sat up slowly, resting his hand on his hand on his stomach when it a dull pain flared up. After pausing for a moment the pain faded away allowing him to stand up. He made sure to throw a pillow at a snoring Takuya's face on his way to meet the others.

Almost everyone was awake and sitting around the living room. Some toast was being passed around, along with a couple of apples. Kari, Kouichi, and TK were standing behind Izzy as he opened up the map from yesterday. Gomamon, Biyomon, and the newly evolved Palmon stood at their feet listening intently. Kari scanned the screen looking at the areas where the most dots were gathered.

"There," Kari pointed at the screen, "That's the park where the others are being kept."

"But Kari it was just a dream," Izzy tried to reason with her. But the girl was adamant, truly believing in what she witnessed.

"I believe you." Kouichi surprised them when he spoke up. "I had this weird feeling since I woke up this morning. I wouldn't be surprised if Kouji was trying to contact us."

"We didn't know where to check anyway. This is the only clue we have; we might as well go with it." TK said. Izzy nodded, convinced.

"I'll wake up the few stranglers," Tai announced from the doorway, "Let's get our friends back." His confidence was contagious. Tai's confident smile spread to the others. "I'll get Matt to help me get them up."

Tai turned to see Matt way ahead of him. The other boy was walking out of the kitchen holding two tall glasses of water. Tai laughed and ran to catch up with his friend. There was no way he was going to miss this.

* * *

Now that everyone was awake, Kari shared her dream with everyone. Rather than doubting her, they were excited for at least some kind of lead.

"Let's get going!" Takuya jumped up. He was standing off to the side with Davis, both boys slightly damp. Everyone quickly got ready to leave, eager to begin their rescue mission.

They began to filter out of the house and headed toward the park. Kouichi was the last out the door, making sure to lock up the house before leaving. He continued to trek behind the rest of the group. The rest of the warriors noticed their friend lagging behind a little and slowed down to walk next to him.

"What's up Kouichi?" JP asked. "I thought you would be more excited that we might have found them." Zoe and Takuya walked next to Kouichi while JP was slightly ahead of them.

"I am," Kouichi smiled at them. But his smile was fake; forced. That immediately set off warning sirens in the other's heads.

"Okay, what's wrong?" Takuya put his hand on the other boy's shoulder halting his movements. Zoe and JP stopped walking and watched.

Kouichi let out a deep sigh and shook his head. "It's nothing really. I'm just being childish." The others continued to stare intently at him. Kouichi knew that they wouldn't stop until they knew what was bothering him.

He finally gave in, "It's just-I'm jealous," he trailed off. He slowly began walking again, the others keeping pace with him.

"Of what?" Zoe asked.

"After we finally found each other, Kouji and I have always been really close. I guess I'm kind of disappointed that he ended up contacting Kari instead of me. I know it's stupid but it's just how I feel." Kouichi paused again, going over his feelings and thoughts in his head. "I know that we're not always going to be together, we're bound to get married and have our own families. But I want to believe that we will always have that connection, the one that he seems to be share with others now."

"Aww, Kouichi," Zoe cooed and hugged the stunned boy. "You're always going to be Kouji's brother, and nothing is going to change that."

"I told you it was silly," Kouichi began smiling, his depressed mood lifting.

"You're just going to have to accept the fact that you need to share him," JP joked.

"I understand. Thanks guys, talking it out really helped." Kouichi turned to each of his friends, pausing when he noticed Takuya's odd expression as he kept his eyes glued to the ground. "Takuya?"

Takuya ignored the question and suddenly started laughing. The others exchanged confused glances as the goggle wearing boy continued to laugh. Finally calming down and catching his breath, Takuya began to explain the reason for his odd behavior. "Sorry. I'm just trying to imagine Kouji married."

* * *

Kouji woke up to the sound of clinking bowls. He groaned slightly, rubbing the sleepiness out of his eyes. Looking up, there was a Pumpkinmon pushing covered bowls into their cell. Noticing that one of the captives was awake, the Pumpkinmon let out an 'eep' noise before scurrying out the door.

Glancing around the cell he saw Joe waking up and gently shaking the girls to wake them up. Deciding to help he nudged Tommy's side with his knee, after a bit more prodding the remaining sleepyheads finally woke up.

"Did you guys have any luck getting in contact with the others?" Sora asked Tommy and Kouji. Tommy chuckled while Mimi glared at him.

"No," Mimi continued to glare at the younger boy, "But Tommy thought it was funny to ruin my dream. I was relaxing at the beach trying to sunbathe, then all of a sudden it starts snowing and a polar bear is running around kicking up sand."

Tommy apologized, trying to stifle his laughter. "I'm sorry but I guess the only person Kumamon could visit was Mimi."

"I think I got the message across," Kouji spoke up quietly. Tommy's mood immediately sobered as everyone's attention now turned to Kouji. "Lobomon managed to find Kari and led her here. I didn't get a chance to tell her anything because as soon as she got here this flock of bats attacked her."

Mimi and Sora gasped, worried for their friends safety. "Don't worry," Kouji reassured them, "It was just a dream I don't think that she could get physically hurt. But at least we know where we are now."

"Now all we need to do is wait until they find us," Joe said.

"Great more waiting," Tommy whined. He flopped back down laying on his back to stare at the ceiling.

They didn't need to wait long, for the ground began to shake and a deep rumbling could be heard.

"Well that was fast."

* * *

After another fifteen minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the park Kari saw in her dreams. Everyone was on their toes. It was eerily quiet, and nothing moved besides the leaves on the surrounding foliage getting pushed around by the wind.

"Be careful, we don't want any more injuries," Tai advised. He received silent nods as the wondered through the denser forested area of the park. Soon enough they came to a clearing with a familiar rock fixture in the center of it.

"There! That's where the entrance is," Kari pointed. Everyone rushed toward the rock eager to prove if Kari's dream was correct. Unlike in her dream, she didn't faze through the rock; it was solid. "There's an underground entrance here, but in my dream I just walked through the stone."

"Don't worry, we can handle it right guys?" Agumon volunteered himself and some of the other partner digimon to help shift the huge rock.

Greymon, Kabuterimon, and Garurumon moved to the right side of the stone and began attempting to move it. At first, it didn't seem like they were making any progress. Soon enough there was a low scraping sound.

The rock began to move. The work was slow, but extremely rewarding. An underground passage was reviled after the rock was pushed completely out of the way.

"There must have been another way to open that," Garurumon panted. He and the other two champions lay on the ground trying to catch their breath, that rock was definitely as heavy as it looked.

"Great job guys," Takuya cheered. He started to make his way toward the passage way, but he was stopped when all the digimon immediately perked up staring out toward the forest line.

"I knew this was too easy," Gatomon hissed. The other partner digimon stepped forward surrounding their human counter parts.

Hundreds of Bakemon led by a handful of Phantomon began to file into the clearing from the trees. Within a matter of moments they were surrounded. The ghost digimon hissed and growled at them but kept a safe distance. They seemed to be wary of the intruders.

Taking advantage of the enemies' hesitation the partner digimon and the warriors used that opportunity to evolve. The Bakemon were now up against: MetalGreymon, MegaKabuterimon, MagnaAngemon, Garurumon, Nefertimon, Stingmon, Flamedramon, Digmon, Halsemon, Agunimon, Beetlemon, Löweemon and Kazemon.

The Bakemon began to show signs of nervousness but held their ground bravely. Simultaneously, everyone began to attack the Bakemon. Explosions littered the field as the champion digimon were easily destroyed. A few brave Bakemon tried to counter attack, slashing and punching at smaller digimon like Flamedramon. Their attacks had little effect, merely knocking over the surprised digimon but doing no significant damage.

The Phantomon were a bit more of a problem. Their swift movements and deadly scythes were becoming a real pain. They swerved between the confused and frightened Bakemon and slashed at whoever they came across. Löweemon, Stingmon, and Digmon were put on guard duty, trying to keep the others safe from the Phantomon. Löwemon would try to get between the phantom digimon and their target and block the attack with his shield. If successful, the enemy would be occupied long enough for Stingmon and Digmon to get a few hits on them.

The battle was going amazingly well. "Just a little more, you guys got this!" Yolei cheered. Some of the Bakemon began to retreat back into the trees, but the Phantomon held their ground, as they raised their scythes glowering at the children.

Twin roars shook the ground and rattled the trees. The remaining Bakemon and Phantomon looked around fearfully. Then they turned around and made a mad dash back into the forest. Within moments, two enormous digimon broke through the tree line into the clearing.

One was a Callismon, a mega level, a large purple bear-humanoid creature that was about as tall as some of the trees. It stood on two legs wearing a black vest and pants. It looked rather intimidating with huge muscular bulk and deadly claws. To top it all off there was a large three barreled gun attached to its right hand.

The other digimon was a SkullBaluchimon. Even if this digimon was only an ultimate, it was still rather scary and as large as the Callismon. The undead digimon's body consisted mostly of blue bones, making it look like a skeletal animal. It resembled some kind of dog with canines like a saber tooth tiger, two bony wings, and spines running down its back. The bones seemed to be held together by a dark energy that flowed between the bones. The energy manifested itself as black muscles and white nerves.

The two digimon appeared from opposite sides of the forest and began closing in on the Chosen Children and the Warriors.

"I call that one!" Takuya shouted as he charged toward the SkullBaluchimon. He sent a 'Pyro Punch' towards the digimon's skull. When the ball of fire impacted with the digimon's face, it let out a pained roar and reared back on two legs. It immediately brought down its front paws forcefully causing tremors to shake the ground.

The smaller partners and warriors were knocked to off their feet by the force of the impact. The larger digimon stumbled a little but remained standing. The lucky flying digimon flew slightly higher putting more distance between themselves and the new digimon.

"Let's split up," Matt suggested, "We can handle these guys, but someone needs to continue looking for the others." Kari and Kouichi volunteered to go. Kouichi needed to be able to keep up his spirit form, so Ken and TK agreed to go along with them.

"But if all of you go then they won't be able to DNA-digivolve." Davis raised his hand and indicated towards Flamedramon and Stingmon.

"Hopefully we won't need to use it," Izzy interrupted. "It's more important that the warriors are able to use their spirits."

"Fine," Davis gave in. He was slightly disappointed; he wanted to show off Paildramon. But now was not the time.

The four of them raced off down the passageway, disappearing into the earth with their partners along with Gomamon, Biyomon, and Palmon trailing after them. The group that stayed on the surface split up. Agunimon, Flamedramon, MetalGreymon, and Garurumon turned to face the snarling SkullBaluchimon. The remaining digimon, MegaKabuterimon, Digmon, Halsemon, Beetlemon, and Kazemon were left to fend off Callismon.

The bear digimon smirked, revealing sharp fangs. It seemed to be excited for a good fight. It raised its right arm, and pointed it at the digimon gathered in front of him. It began its assault, trying to mow them down with its 'Rodeo Bullet' attack. Digmon quickly burrowed his way underground while the others took to the sky to avoid the attack.

Moving with much more speed than they expected, Callismon launched itself into the air coming face to face with the flying digimon. Moving with the same agility, the enemy brought down its clawed hand down, smashing into Beetlemon.

Beetlemon crashed into the earth, making both Izzy and Cody wince. Callismon was smiling widely now as it landed heavily next to Beetlemon. But the digimon let out a surprised snarl when the earth gave way beneath its feet. Callismon wasn't hurt but was stunned momentarily.

Digmon popped out of the ground a few feet away. He managed to weaken the earth around the area where Callismon landed. The weight of the large digimon caused the ground to crumble beneath its feet. The large digimon had sunk about waist deep in the earth.

With their opponent stuck, MegaKabuterimon, Halsemon, and Digmon hit Callismon dead on with their attacks. Kazemon used their distraction to fly down to check on Beetlemon.

"Are you alright JP?" she asked extending her hand to help him stand. Beetlemon was slowly pushing himself off the ground and grasped her hand letting her help him to his feet.

"Yeah," JP panted, "That guy hits like a truck. I think our best bet is to stay away from him." But that's easier said than done. Callismon may look like the slow but enormously strong type, but he was fast and still had the strength to level mountains.

Callismon shook off the attacks and climbing out of the indent in the ground and let out and angry roar. Raising the barrels of its weapon again, Callismon began to spray another round of bullets. This was going to be a bit harder than expected.

* * *

On the other side of the clearing, the battle with the SkullBaluchimon was going a little better. The skeletal digimon was getting barraged with fire attacks. The large digimon began to take weary steps backwards.

Because SkullBaluchimon was made of mostly bone he couldn't catch fire, but the forest surrounding him could. When the large digimon would shake his body to get rid of the fire that tried to consume its body, bits of the flame would land on the trees and begin to eat away at the bark and leaves.

"Be careful," Tai yelled. "We don't want to set this place on fire."

"Then what would you suggest?" Takuya shouted over his shoulder.

The three humans began to think. They needed to get away from all the plants. "What if we headed back to the open area near the entrance of the park? There's much less trees and bushes there, it would be a better place to fight." Davis suggested.

"Good idea," Tai said, they quickly conveyed their plan to the digimon. Taking action Garurumon, Flamedramon, and Agunimon shot past SkullBaluchimon and headed off in direction of the park. Seeing that their enemy was trying to escape, the skeletal digimon took after them, knocking over any tree that stood directly in front of it.

The three humans climbed aboard MetalGreymon, who lifted off into the air and flew above the trees. The path of destroyed trees made by SkullBaluchimon was easy to follow. When they reached the park entrance the other digimon had already engaged the fight again.

MetalGreymon quickly deposited the kids and left to join the fight.

Agunimon and the partner digimon continued their ferocious assault on the larger digimon. Too preoccupied with attacking, they failed to notice the dark energy that began seeping out of SkullBaluchimon's body.

After a particularly hard hit from MetalGreymon's 'Giga Blaster', SkullBaluchimon shook off the attack and glared at them, its red eyes glowed brightly. The dark energy burst from its body and lunged toward them.

Garurumon saw the attack coming and dove out of the way. The black energy spread across the ground where he was standing, as if searching for him, before it finally dissipated. Watching the dark energy disappear sent cold shivers down Garurumon's spine.

Garurumon heard the frightened cries of Tai and Davis making him look up. Checking first that Matt and the other humans were safe he turned to check on the other digimon. To his horror, they hadn't managed to dodge the last attack and were surrounded in the black energy.

They were trembling and mumbling to themselves, falling to their knees. An odd gravely sounding growl made Garurumon turn to their opponent. SkullBaluchimon was laughing at them.

* * *

Back in the cell, it was obvious that there was a huge battle going taking place on the surface. The ground shook every few minutes, littering them with bits of dirt and rock from the ceiling.

The boys tried desperately to somehow break or bend the bars so that they could escape. All the guards would most likely be heading toward to action to keep their friends away. Now would be the perfect chance to escape.

Even with Tommy and Kouji's powers the bars were still intact and almost perfect shape.

"There's no way we're getting out of here," Joe said shaking his head.

"We can't give up. Our friends are definitely the ones fighting, we need to get to them," Sora said.

"Can't you spirit evolve?" Mimi asked Tommy.

"Yeah, but unfortunately Kumamon isn't the strongest digimon out there when it comes to brute strength." Tommy had already thought of that but if anything it would be better to have Lobomon, at least his sword could cut the bars. Kumamon didn't have much physical strength; he could freeze the bars but not much more than that.

"Kumamon might not be," Kouji began, "But Korikakumon would be able to break out no problem."

**A/N: Here you go everyone! It's finally getting exciting again :P Hope you all enjoyed this segment.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Tommy looked at Kouji with frightened wide eyes. Sora, Joe, and Mimi just looked at him slightly confused.

"Korikakumon? Who's that?" Joe asked. But his question was ignored by Tommy's frantic yelling.

"Are you insane!? Look at how small this cell is, and what if I can't control it?" Tommy was looking at Kouji who just stood there calmly.

The other three came to the assumption that Korikakumon was Tommy's beast spirit. Sora looked around their cell, there was no way the cell was _small_. Was Tommy's beast spirit that large?

"What are you going to do? Pray?" Kouji teased, referring to the first time Tommy beast spirit evolved. Tommy's face turned slightly red out of embarrassment.

"At least I didn't run head first into a wall!" Tommy yelled back angrily. Now Sora, Joe and Mimi were extremely confused. Kouji just shrugged not bothered at all by Tommy's comment.

"We thought that Kouichi couldn't control it because Ken wasn't there, but both Mimi and Joe are here, so there shouldn't be any problems," Kouji tried to convince the younger warrior. But he was just as nervous, if Tommy did lose control they would all be doomed. This was their only option; there was no other way to escape.

"I can't," Tommy said looking down, hiding behind the brim of his hat, something that he hasn't done in a long time. "If I can't control it, you'll all be killed for sure."

"I think you can do it," Joe said, placing his hand on Tommy's shoulder, "We believe in you." Tommy raised his head to see Joe smiling at him and Mimi and Sora giving him encouraging nods.

"Alright," Tommy finally gave in. He was so afraid that he would end up hurting or even killing the others, that even Kumamon's presence in his mind did nothing to make him feel better. He stepped forward and stood in front of the bars.

"You might want to step back." Kouji grasped Sora by her forearm and gently pulled her back. They others followed his example until they were almost touching the back wall.

Tommy closed his eyes and took a deep breath and searched within himself. He could feel Kumamon, the spirit shared his concern. Ignoring his human spirit, he dug deeper searching a more primal part of his soul.

He could feel it now, a strong pulse of power and energy. His very gut felt frozen, like he was freezing from the inside out. Unbeknownst to Tommy, ice crystals began to form and encased his body. The other humans gasped in amazement as the ice began to grow. The ice filled up the entire front of the cell and nearly touched the top of the ceiling.

The structure of ice began to glow brightly. Mimi and Sora covered their eyes from the sudden burst of harsh light. Joe squinted not wanting to lose sight of where their friend disappeared. Kouji unfazed by the light looked on with a worried expression on his face. He really hoped that Tommy was alright.

Mimi let out a small gasp and wrapped her arms around her middle and sunk to the floor. "Mimi?! What's wrong?" Sora asked concerned. She knelt down next to the girl and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Mimi didn't say anything; she merely shook her head furiously biting her bottom lip to stop herself from crying.

Kouji noticed that Joe began to breathe heavily and clutched the front of his shirt with his hands. "Beast spirit evolving hurts doesn't it?" Kouji said watching Mimi and Joe. What they're feeling is only a fraction of what Tommy must be going through.

"Can we help him somehow?" Joe asked. Kouji shrugged, not knowing any more than they do. With the help of Sora, Mimi shakily rose to her feet. She slowly approached the now dimly glowing pillar of ice.

Mimi raised a shaky hand and pressed it on the ice. It was extremely cold. It felt like the chill was flowing into her body, freezing her to the bone. Her body hurt. It felt like someone was trying to stretch her out farther than her body could handle. But this wasn't her pain; it was only part of what Tommy was feeling.

There had to be something she could do to help Tommy. She shut her eyes tight, searching for any presence of Kumamon in her spirit and mind. Then she felt it, a slight tug pulling on her consciousness.

Joe felt it too. He closed his eyes and allowed what he assumed was Kumamon, to take his consciousness elsewhere.

* * *

When Joe opened his eye he was no longer in the cell but on a bare, desolate plane. Mimi was kneeling next to him, taking in the sudden change of environment with wide eyes.

"Where are we?" Mimi asked. She stood up shakily, looking around, trying to find some sort of indicator giving them a clue to where they were.

"No idea," Joe answered. He suddenly noticed that the pain was gone. He was glad that he was no longer in pain, but it just raised more questions. What happened to Tommy? Was he alright? Where was he now?

Out of nowhere, the wind suddenly picked up. The strong gusts nearly knocked them over. Mimi raised her hands, struggling to keep her hair from constantly whipping her face. Making things worse, snow suddenly began to fall, accompanying the wind in pelting their defenseless bodies.

Joe stepped closer to Mimi and wrapped an arm around her, things would be at least ten times worse of they got separated in this freak blizzard.

"Can you hear that?" Mimi shouted over the howling wind. Joe shook his head. He could barely hear Mimi when she was right next to him. How could she hear anything else besides the wind?

Then he heard it. Mixed in with the sounds from the storm were definitely the sounds of someone crying. "It's coming from this way," Mimi said before taking off into the blizzard. Not wanting to lose sight of his friend, Joe immediately took off after her.

The snow was thick now making it hard to see very far in front of them. But they kept going, determined to help whoever else was stuck out here. Before they knew it they stood in front of an enormous crystal structure. It seemed to appear out of nowhere, Mimi had to quickly bring her hands in front of her to keep herself from running straight into it.

The crying was louder now and easy to distinguish over the roar of the wind. "It's coming from this thing," Joe said placing his hand on the crystal. It seemed to pulse under his touch, like a heartbeat.

_"You're just a big cry baby. No one can depend on you!"_

_"You're worthless!" _

Mimi and Joe spun around, looking for the source of the voice. But no one else was there. Where was that voice coming from?

_"You always depended on the others!"_

"You wouldn't be here now if they weren't there to hold your hand."

"That sounds like Tommy," Mimi said, turning to face Joe. She was right. Listening to the voice, Joe realized it was actually Tommy's voice. But it was a higher pitch compared to his normal voice-like the voice of a child.

The torment continued. Tommy's younger voice kept repeating harsh words and vicious taunts.

"You're wrong."

Another voice joined the fray. This time, Mimi and Joe immediately recognized the sound of Tommy's current voice.

"I'm stronger now. I don't rely on others to protect me."

The crystal behind them began to glow. The light from the crystal reviled Tommy's body, curled up on his side in the center of the ice. They could see his chest slowly rising and falling. Good, that meant he was alive. Wait, how can he be moving if he was frozen in ice?

"We must be in Tommy's sub-consciousness," Joe concluded, that was the only way all of this could make sense.

"But then who is he talking to?" Mimi asked, referring to the child-like voice.

The child's voice began laughing. A horrible laugh that made shivers run down the two listener's spines.

_"You're joking right? You haven't changed at all, you're still just a big baby that breaks down and cries when things get tough."_ When Tommy didn't respond, the laughter continued. The light from the crystal began to dim, obscuring their vision of Tommy.

"Don't listen to him Tommy!" Mimi shouted, banging her firsts on the crystal. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but the sudden loss of Tommy's voice and the dimming light was probably not a good thing. "You helped save the world before, you're not worthless!"

_"Shut up!"_ The voice screamed at them. The wind blew harshly in response to the voice's new found anger.

Joe understood what Mimi was trying to do and began trying to communicate with Tommy. "When you protected us from the Dokugumon, you didn't care if you got hurt if it meant keeping us safe. Whoever this is just trying to bring you down, they don't know anything about you."

"_STOP IT_!" The voice reached an ear splitting screech. Instantly the wind stopped swirling around them. Instead it formed a small tornado directly in front of them. The snow blew around in the tornado compacting to form a body.

Joe and Mimi watched in awe as a large polar bear was created out of the compacted snow. The bear opened its enormous jaws, but instead of a beastly roar the child's voice came from the bear's mouth.

"You just met him, how can you know anything about him?" the bear snarled at them. The wind and the snow dissipated until the air was still.

"I may have only just met Tommy, but from what I can tell he's extremely brave and strong," Joe argued. The bear snarled and took a few steps forward.

Mimi flinched taking a tentative step backwards, "Maybe we shouldn't taunt the creepy animal that just appeared out of thin air." She tugged on Joe's sleeve trying to drag him backwards.

"Whatever that thing is, it's trying to mess with Tommy's head. I have no idea where we are or how we got here, but I do know that we need to help Tommy," Joe said bravely as he stood his ground. Mimi was afraid, but Joe was right. Gathering her courage she stayed put, even with the bear still taking slow steps toward them.

_"Look, even now you need these two to protect you. You haven't changed, still clinging to others for help." The bear sniggered at them._

"What's wrong with that?" Mimi tried the best to hold the quiver out of her voice. "Everyone needs help sometimes. Asking for help doesn't mean you're weak." The light from the crystal started to glow brighter.

The bear stomped its front paws on the ground angrily_. "You will always be that spoiled little cry baby. No matter what happens, you can't change who you are!"_

"I don't know what you're talking about," Joe spoke up, "The Tommy I know sounds nothing like that."

"And even if he is, he's obviously grown up a lot." Mimi smiled, "I'll admit I used to be spoiled too."

"Used to be?" Joe chuckled.

Mimi turned to glare at him, "Well, I'll admit I still am a little. But I've come a long way from how I was supposed to be. Everyone has a chance to grow and change, and I think Tommy has. He's grown into someone that I can be proud to call my friend."

Joe nodded in agreement. The crystal starting shinning brighter that it did previously and started to crack. The bear backpedalled trying to get away from the light with its eyes shut lightly, snarling angrily. Through all the racket the bear thing was making they could hear Tommy whisper, "Thanks."

With a final scream the bear crumbled. From the pile of snow that used to be the bear, a ball of light green light rose up and flew toward the crystal. It easily phased through it and flew straight into Tommy's chest.

The cracks in the crystal expanded causing the entire thing to shatter. Joe and Mimi screamed in fright as small shards of ice rained down on them.

* * *

They expected the ice to hurt, but instead they didn't feel anything, not even the wind. When they opened their eyes there were back in the cell. They were standing exactly where they started when that whole thing occurred.

Mimi stepped back from the structure of ice, dazed, "What was that?"

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"We were suddenly in this blizzard and there was this snowman-bear thing that talked like Tommy and-" Mimi began talking really fast waving her arms around for emphasis.

"You're crazy. You were standing here the whole time. Both of you were in pain then suddenly you're yelling," Kouji said, he always thought this girl was a bit nuts.

Now that they thought about it, the pain was gone. "That was strange," Joe said quietly. Mimi and Joe shared confused glances at each other. They didn't both just dream that, did they?

Sora watched her friends worriedly, while Kouji hung back, an eyebrow raised.

A huge crack suddenly appeared on the surface of the crystal. It began glowing immensely as the cracks spread and pieces of the crystal began crumbling away. Kouji immediately pulled them away and stood directly in front of them. He summoned two swords and crossed them in front of his chest.

"Just in case," Kouji said after he noticed the wide eyes the others were giving him.

Finally the crystal crumbled away revealing the enormous form of Korikakumon. He was slightly hunched the top of his head almost brushing the ceiling. He shook his head and shoulders as if testing his body, jostling the mane of braids that spread over his back.

"Tommy?" Mimi asked quietly.

The huge digimon grunted before turning his head slowly to gaze upon the other occupants of the cell.

* * *

TK, Ken, Kari and the digimon raced down the tunnel leading deeper into the earth. Löweemon, Nefertimon, MagnaAngemon and Stingmon ran in front of them, while Biyomon, Gomamon, and Palmon stayed next to the Chosen. They came across no resistance besides some Bakemon, but they were quickly dispatched.

"How much farther?" Ken asked as they raced down the tunnel.

"A little more," Kari answered, "We should come to a room with a bunch of tunnels soon." Sure enough, a few moments later they came to the same open room that Kari found in her dreams.

"Which one?" Löweemon asked. There must have been at least 10 different tunnels to choose from. Hopefully Kari remembered which one.

Kari turned toward her right and pointed at one of the far passageways, "That one."

They began approaching the tunnel that Kari pointed out when they were suddenly interrupted. A screechy roar echoed from one of the other tunnels. It sounded fairly close making them stop and turn around not wanted to get caught off guard by whatever made that noise.

Within moments an enormous four legged digimon faced them from the other side of the room. It had a human-like body sitting atop the body of an animal with four legs that ended in clawed paws. The digimon's face was covered by a pointed helmet that covered the digimon's eyes. Two horns stuck out of the long blond hair that matched the color of the horse like tail. The animal part of the body was covered in a redish-brown fur and two additional heads sticking out at the hips. These extra heads where elongated with no eyes and armed with rows of razor sharp teeth. The final touch to its creepy appearance was the black vampire-like wings that stuck out from its back.

The two heads snapped and snarled at them, drool dripping from the twin mouths. All three heads opened their jaws wide and let out a horrid screeching sound. The sound was followed by a pulse of power that easily knocked over the other occupants in the room.

The four evolved digimon quickly jumped back to their feet, ready to defend the others. The humans and rookie were winded from the attack and took a bit longer to stand. "What is that?" Kari asked. She could feel large amounts of dark energy coming from this new digimon.

"GranDracmon," MagnaAngemon hissed. "He's supposedly the 'king of the vampire digimon', rumored to be able to taint the most holy of angels."

"Great," TK moaned. They were hoping to make the rescue the others fast and get back in time to help the others. This was going to put a big damper in their plans.

"We need to be careful with this one," Nefertimon hovered above them, glaring at GranDracmon.

Kouichi took a nervous step backwards; this digimon gave him the chills. He could practically see the darkness rolling off of him in waves. He gripped his staff lightly and summoned his shield. He may be afraid, but nothing was going to stop him from finding his brother and his friends.

Gomamon, Biyomon, and Palmon stood near the Chosen Children. They knew that they were no match for this digimon while being stuck in their rookie forms.

Making the first move, GranDracmon raised both of his arms and faced his open palms at them. His palms glowed blue for an instant before blue beams shot out of them. The digimon quickly scattered. Small chunks of ice formed on the ground where the beams hit.

GranDracmon continued to attack them with back to back 'Crystal Revolution' attacks. Luckily, each attack was dodged and no one was hurt. The floor of the room was littered with bits of ice which sparkled in the flickering light.

When GranDracmon paused, they others took the opportunity to attack. MagnaAngemon, Stingmon, and Löweemon raced in with their weapons posed to strike. Nefertimon preferred to keep her distance and barrage him with stone tablets from her 'Rosetta Stone'.

The tablets hit their target dead on and crumbled upon impact, but did little damage. Magnamon and Stingmon flew toward the human part of his body slashing at him. GranDracmon raised his arms to block the attacks. The weapons sliced open the skin, but it didn't seem to bother the large digimon. He quickly countered, back-handing the two flying digimon knocking them away.

Löweemon wasn't doing much better. His staff sunk deep into the digimon's leg with a satisfying squelching noise. He didn't have time to celebrate when GranDracomon raised his other leg and attempted to swat him away. Löweemon quickly withdrew his weapon and leaped out of the way. His eyes widened as he watched the wound on their opponent's leg slowly begin to close.

This guy had some amazing healing power. Even the lacerations on his arms were healing. The cut from MagnaAngemon's sword seemed to be struggling to heal. A flesh around that wound was still inflamed, a huge difference from the arm that Stingmon attacked, and that looked almost untouched.

"What's with this guy?" Gomamon asked as he watched the final wounds close. "How are we supposed to beat him if he keeps healing himself?"

"Not much we can do but keep trying," TK said. He had his hands clenched into fists at his side. This battle was beginning to get frustrating. No matter how much damage they dished out, GranDracmon just kept healing himself.

"The only thing that seems to be doing anything is MagnaAngemon's sword," Ken pointed out. Looking at their opponent there were a few red welts where the cuts from MagnaAngamon's attack had cut into his flesh.

GandDracmon was getting irritated with the constant attacks. Because of his larger size he couldn't dodge their attacks. But his regenerative abilities rendered most of their attacks useless anyway, except for that stupid angel. The wounds from him hurt the most and were the most difficult to heal.

With a roar, GranDracmon raised his arms and a dark aura began to flow out of his body. Immediately Nefertimon, MagnaAngemon, and Stingmon could feel the effects of the growing dark energy. They landed rather roughly on the ground and tried their best to hold their evolved forms. It felt like the life was slowly being sucked out of them and replaced with cold sadness and hopelessness.

The rookie digimon and the humans were in no better shape. Being sensitive to the powers of darkness Kari and Ken were brought to their knees. Ken was shacking violently and Kari was struggling to keep the tears from flowing down her face. TK managed to stay on his feet, but barely. The three rookie digimon shuffled closer together for comfort.

Observing his fine work, a wicked smile spread across GranDracom's face. He was caught off guard by Löweemon's staff as it flew through the air and pierced his chest. He let out an agonized yell and ripped out the staff and flew it across the room. GranDracmon watched the offending weapon clatter to the ground before turning to face the only opponent still standing, only to get hit with a 'Shadow Meteor' to his still wounded chest.

The attack was much more powerful than usual and knocked the surprised evil digimon off his feet. Stunned by the show of power, all eyes focused on Löweemon. He was glowing with the same aura that surrounded GranDracmon.

GranDracmon struggled to get to his feet and glared at the lone warrior. He normally faced light digimon that were severely weakened by his dark aura. This was the first time he faced another dark digimon, and his aura seemed to have the exact opposite effect and it strengthened him.

By this time, Kouichi managed to get his staff back and held it firmly in his hands as GranDracmon stood back up with an angry scowl on his face. At first, Kouichi felt nervous when he felt the dark power filling him up. Over the years, he learned not to be afraid of his control of dark energy and embraced it.

He attacked GranDracmon with another beam of dark energy, making the larger digimon stumble backwards from the force of the attack.

GranDracmon growled lowly. This wasn't part of the plan. He withdrew the dark aura that he was letting out. The others were able to stand again and the energy fuelling Löweemon faded.

"Are you guys okay?" TK was worried about his two friends who remained sitting on the ground even when the darkness faded. TK knelt next to Kari and wrapped his arms around her. As soon as she felt TK's embrace she turned to him and buried her face in his shoulder. He rubbed her back gently, trying to sooth her violent shaking.

After taking a few deep breaths, Ken raised his head and watched the battle. It seemed to be at a stalemate. So far, Stingmon and the others had managed to avoid all of the attacks being sent their way while dishing out a ton of damage to GranDracmon. But they were beginning to tire and the enemy was still constantly regenerating. This battle would be decided by who would tire first.

GranDracmon came to the same conclusion as Ken as he eyed his opponents. So far they were mostly untouched, besides the few bruises they got from him batting them away. If he infected them with his dark aura again then they would be weakened enough for him to finish them off. But if he did that the warrior would get stronger. His best bet for wining would be to eliminate the warrior first.

GranDracmon's two larger mouths opened wide and began making a horrible screeching noise. The 'Death Scream' filled the room and began to reverberate off the walls. All the other occupants of the room clamped their hands over their ears to try to block out the horrible screeching. The attack seemed to seep into their bodies and rattle their bones.

While they were distracted GranDracmon pounced. He launched himself toward Löweemon, planning to crush the smaller digimon under his front paws.

Even with his hands held firmly over his ears Kouichi was ready. He threw himself to the side as GranDracmon sailed past him. GranDracmon smirked; he had expected something like that. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he pivoted and turned to face the warrior. His front paw shot forward and pinned Löweemon to the ground. The scream finally subsided allowing the others to rush to his aid.

Kouichi struggled to break free, but the sheer weight of his opponent kept him from escaping. He could hear the others shouting and attacks being launched. The world seemed to fade away as Kouichi started up into the evil digimon's face. Beneath his mask, GranDracmon's eyes began to glow red.

Kouichi's vision began to fade. He could see the tendrils of darkness swirling around him. The last thing he heard a voice in his head whispering 'Gorgon Eye' before he blacked out.

GranDracmon stepped back as black wisps of energy swirled around the now unconscious warrior. The energy seemed to thicken until a solid black bubble lay on the ground where Löweemon was.

With that nuisance dealt with, GranDracmon let the dark energy flow from his body. The same chilling effect took hold on the digimon and the humans. This time Nefertimon, Stingmon, and MagnaAngemon managed to stay in the air even with the dark energies swirling though out the room.

"What happened to Kouichi?" Ken asked. He was really worried, no one really knew what was happening, and the only person who would was captured. Ken began to shake slightly; he could hear the lapping of waves on the shore, a reminder of his experience in the Dark Ocean. Checking on the others, he realized that Kari didn't look much better.

Even if the screeching noise had stopped, her hands were still covering her ears. She snuggled into TK's chest seeking comfort. TK looked a bit pale but other than that he seemed alright.

Hearing a pained shout from Stingmon, Ken's head whipped around to see his partner get struck by one of the blue beams that GranDracmon was attacking with earlier. Stingmon was instantly frozen in a block of ice and crashed to the ground.

Worried about his partner, Ken ignored TK's shouts for him to come back as he rushed towards the frozen Stingmon. MagnaAngemon landed next to him as Ken reached his partner. MagnaAngemon began to swing his sword at the ice slowly chipping away at it.

Ken had never felt so useless before. In a way he envied the Legendary Warriors, they had the power to fight, to make a difference. He was average, he couldn't even help Stingmon. Unable to look at his partner's frightened expression anymore, he turned back to watch GranDracomon.

Nefertimon was doing her best to keep the evil digimon busy. She swiftly flew through the air dodging more frozen beams and GranDracmon's outstretched claws. She bombarded the digimon's torso and head with stones and beams of pink light.

Nefertimon could practically feel Kari's discomfort and attacked their enemy with more vigor. She wished Kouji was here, Angewomon would be able to do much more damage.

The observing humans and digimon gasped when Nefertimon was hit by one of GranDracmon's paws. She spiraled to the ground and skid a few feet before managing to right herself and lifted back into the air.

Ken let out a sigh of relief when Nefertimon managed to keep fighting. "Please hurry," Ken pleaded with MagnaAngemon. The ultimate digimon was trying his best to free Stingmon but it was a tedious project.

The sound of waves was much louder than it was before; it was almost drowning out all other sounds. Ken began to breathe heavily; the darkness in this room was so thick. From the corner of his eye he saw a purple light. It was coming from the bubble that Kouichi was trapped in.

At the very center was a small pinprick of glowing purple light. As he watched it, the light seemed to get brighter. The light filled up the whole room, making Ken raise his hands to block the light from his eyes.

He lowered his hands when the light faded to find himself in a small clearing surrounded by a dark forest.

"What was that?"

Ken jumped slightly at the voice. He calmed down immensely when he saw TK standing next to him. The other boy looked extremely confused.

"Did you see that light too?" Ken asked. TK nodded.

"I don't know where we are, but we need to get back fast. Kari wasn't in very good shape." TK was really worried. After the darkness first filled the room Kari seemed to have a mental breakdown. She wouldn't talk to him and just kept her eyes closed tightly.

Suddenly, a pulse of energy knocked both boys onto their backs. TK sat up and rubbed the back of his head, "Ken, you okay?" TK looked toward his friend and his jaw dropped.

Ken was sitting there in shock. All of a sudden he was in his old emperor uniform. Disgustedly, Ken ripped the glasses off his face and threw it as far as he could. Ken scuttled back until he was pressed up against the trunk of a tree.

TK had never seen the other boy so scared. Ken tried to pull the emperor's cloak off but to no avail. The stupid thing just didn't wasn't to come off. This was just a nightmare, it had to be.

"What the hell is going on?" TK asked, beginning to panic himself. "We need to leave now!"

The crunching of leaves alerted them to the presence of someone else entering the clearing. A tall armored figure stepped into the clearing.

"You!" TK shouted jumping to his feet.

"I'm sorry, but you two aren't going anywhere," Duskmon smiled.

**A/N: I've been trying to make my chapters longer, and now I've finally succeed. It may not seem like much, but an extra 1,000 words than normal seems pretty good to me. I know Duskmon's was already defeated but I have a good reason for this :P. And don't worry I haven't forgotten about the others , they will get their turn.**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: To answer some questions; Kari was left behind when TK and Ken were ported into the forest. Sorry if it wasn't clear. This chapter makes this story over 100k words! I never realized it was going to be this huge :****O**

**Chapter 24**

As Duskmon stepped farther into the clearing, TK felt the color drain from his face. "I saw you get destroyed. How are you here?" He stared wide eyed at Duskmon.

Duskmon chuckled, "I'm not so easy to get rid of." The dark digimon took a few steps closer unsheathing his sword. "I don't know how you got here, but I'm not going to pass up an opportunity to kill some of _his_ friends."

"Where are we?" Ken finally managed to find his voice. Being suddenly forced into the old emperor uniform made him panic. He was just beginning to calm down, but the fear of the new digimon replaced his old panic. He remembered the story that Takuya and the others had told them about this guy, and none of it was pleasant.

"Why bother telling you when you're going to be dead soon?" Without warning Duskmon rushed at them, his sword raised, poised to decapitate them.

Unable to defend themselves, TK and Ken did the only thing they could. They raised their hands to try to protect their heads and shut their eyes tight.

They were expecting the inevitable pain of Duskmon's sword cutting through their flesh, but instead there was the sharp clang of metal on metal.

When the pain didn't come, Ken and TK opened their eyes. Out of nowhere, Kouichi appeared and stood in front of them locking weapons with Duskmon. He was holding Duskmon back, blocking his sword with what looked like Löweemon's staff.

"You always seem to be in the way," Duskmon growled.

"You should know better than to think that I would just stand by and just let you hurt them," Kouichi replied calmly. Kouichi stood his ground, neither able to push the other away.

Ken's eyes narrowed as we watched, something was off about this. Kouichi was human, there was no way he should be able to fend off a strong digimon like Duskmon. "What's going on? Where are we?"

Fed up, Duskmon unsheathed his second sword and tried to catch Kouichi off guard. With both hands gripping his staff Kouichi wouldn't use his shield, so instead of trying to block the incoming attack he opted for dodging. He dove out of the way as both of Duskmon's swords dug into the ground where he was standing.

"I don't know how you got here," Kouichi said, turning his head to the two boys, "We're in my heart." The two boys gave him confused looks, prompting him to continue. "GranDracmon's Gorgon Eye attack forces the person to face the darkness in their hearts. That's probably why Duskmon is here."

"And why I'm in this." Ken raised his hands, staring at the gloves he now wore. "So the attack is accenting the darkness in each of us."

"But why us?" TK asked, "Only Kouichi took that attack."

"Are you done?" Duskmon interrupted, leaving TK's question unanswered. "I'm tired of listening to you weaklings." He charged in to attack again. Kouichi raised his staff and tried to parry Duskmon's furious attacks. The force of the attacks made Kouichi step backwards. He was so focused on blocking the attacks aimed to kill him that he lost track of his surroundings.

After taking another stepped backwards, he caught his foot on a rock making him lose his balance. Duskmon saw his chance and took it. He swung his sword in an arc with enough force to knock the boy over. Kouichi landed on his back with a thud.

The impact with the ground made him lose his grip on his staff. It rolled away out of reach. Kouichi managed to sit up, but a sword at his throat made him freeze.

Duskmon smiled as he gazed down at the boy, "I am who you truly are, no matter what Löweemon says. No matter what you do, you will never get rid of me."

"Maybe that's a good thing."

Everyone in the clearing, including Duskmon, turned to stare unbelieving at Ken.

"What's wrong with you!" TK almost shouted. "How is this a good thing?!" He raised is arm, indicated to Kouichi lying on his back with Duskmon's sword at his throat.

"Duskmon is a good reminder of how Kouichi could have ended up," Ken began, "His presence is a constant reminder that he is better than that, and that he should keep believing in himself." Ken looked down at his new clothes. "I may not like what I did when I was the Digimon Emperor, but it was something that I needed to go through to grow. Even if I regret everything that I did, I wouldn't be the person I am now if it didn't happen."

Everyone was speechless. TK assumed that Ken was always bothered by his days as the Digimon Emperor. But it seemed like he had recently been putting more thought behind his past, it was a great improvement.

"Your right," Kouichi said. He tilted his head backwards and gave Ken an upside-down smile. "Duskmon is always going to be a part of me, just like Löweemon is. But I can't let him or my past rule me."

"Enough!" Duskmon snarled. He pulled his arm back to impale Kouichi. But before the sword came down the shadows around them rose up and knocked the evil digimon away. Duskmon was thrown backwards, landing on his back with a heavy thud.

Kouichi sat up and watched as the shadows zoomed around the clearing. The shadows flew around before slowing down and then began to circle all three of them. Ken and TK were a bit nervous and began fidgeting when the shadows came a bit too close to them.

"It's alright don't be scared," Kouichi reassured them. He lifted his hand and let one of the shadows flow through his fingers. Ken and TK felt a little better. Tentatively, TK raised his hand and tried to touch one of the shadows that floated around him.

As if sensing his nervousness, the shadow slowed. TK gently touched it with his pointer finger and quickly withdrew his hand expecting something bad to happen. But nothing did. The shadow simply stayed put waiting for TK to do something.

He reached out again and touched it with the palm of his hand. It didn't have a solid form, but did feel cool to the touch. Ken was watching TK's reaction and smiled. It appeared that the other boy was finally getting over his hate of the darkness.

"Ever since I met you I've began to rethink what I used to believe about the powers of darkness," TK said quietly, "At first I just thought that you were an exception, and that darkness was still evil." But now I think I understand. Darkness is just an element, like light, fire and ice; it is neither good nor evil." TK's statement caused wide smiles to spread over Kouichi and Ken's faces.

With an angry shout, Duskmon was back on his feet, and charged at them again. The shadows reacted quickly, leaving the humans and forming one solid form and slamming into Duskmon. Duskmon was thrown back but managed to stay on his feet this time and looked on warily.

The shadows seemed to pulse and fold in on itself forming a new shape. Within moments a large black lion was standing protectively in front of the boys. Duskmon took a surprised step backwards when the lion roared loudly.

The lion lunged at Duskmon, fangs and claws bared. Duskmon managed to parry the deadly claws with his swords. The evil digimon was getting pushed back until his back collided with the trunk of a tree. Seeing it's pray corralled against the tree, the lion sprang forward. Duskmon managed to roll out of the way just before he the claws could reach his chest.

The force of the lion's attack put a deep gash in the tree and caused it to topple over. TK and Ken watched in awe as the fight continued. Kouichi on the other hand, watched the battle with a small smile on his face. He already knew who the victor would be.

Before long, Duskmon was knocked to the ground, face forward. The lion stood, with one paw on his back and the other placed firmly on the ground next to Duskmon's head. Duskmon tried to push himself off the ground. But he stopped when he could feel the lion's claws begin to dig into his back.

Kouichi calmly walked up to the dark digimon and looked down at him. "I've come to accept that you will always be there to try to lead me down the wrong path like you did before. Being the warrior of darkness, there are going to be people who want to use me just like Cherubimon, and like how Ken was used." Ken nodded slightly, acknowledging the older boy.

"But I have my brother and my friends that will always be there for me and will keep me on the right path. I'm not afraid of you anymore," Kouichi said turning away from Duskmon and placing his hands on Ken and TK's shoulders forcing them to turn around. "I suggest you don't watch."

The lion gave a loud roar, making the other two boys jump. The roar was followed by Duskmon's screams of agony. The screams cut off suddenly making the forest eerily quiet. TK gave a shout of surprise when something nudged the middle of his back.

Spinning around, TK was left face to face with the lion. The lion nudged his hand this time, wanting to be pet. TK laughed a little and began to stroke the lion's muzzle.

"What happened to Duskmon?" Ken asked. There was no sign of the evil warrior.

"Gone for now," Kouichi said. "Thank you for your help. It may not have seemed like much, but your support is all I needed. And it's time for us to wake up now. I'm sure the others need our help." The lion stepped away from TK and walked up to Kouichi. It circled him, rubbing its body on him, like a giant cat.

"How do we get out of here?" TK asked. "We don't even know how we got here."

Kouichi just smiled at them and started to wave. Suddenly the lion gave a loud roar and the same purple light began emanating from its body. Ken and TK raised their hands and closed their eyes to block the light.

* * *

When they reopened their eyes, they were back in the cavern watching as Neferimon's wing was clipped by one of the blue beams, making her spiral out of control.

TK was stunned, one second they were in the forest and now all of a sudden they were back to where they started. He saw Ken looking around with the same confused expression that he must have had on. Something moved in his arms making him look down.

Kari was still there with her face buried in his shoulder, with his arms wrapped securely around him. "Don't worry everything is going to be fine," he quietly whispered to her. To his disappointment she didn't respond. He clutched Kari tighter and turned back to watch the battle.

Nefertimon was still dodging GranDracmon's attacks the best she could. With one of her wings iced over she was reduced to running along the ground. She needed help. TK yelled for his partner who was still trying to get Stingmon out of the block of ice he was trapped in. He was reluctant to leave, but with a nod of approval from Ken, MangaAngemon lifted off into the sky and readied his sword.

The three rookie digimon ran over to Ken and Stingmon and continued where MagnaAngemon left off and tried to free their friend from his prison.

MagnaAngemon sliced at the evil digimon his sword, trying to distract him while Nefertimon tried to remove the ice from her wing. She desperately clawed at the ice that rendered her wing immobile, wanting to get back in to the fight as soon as possible.

GranDracmon was livid. One by one his enemies were falling, but they still were extremely irritating. They buzzed around him like flies, and no matter how many times he swatted them away or tried to squash them they kept coming back. The angel was the worst. His sword stung, and the wounds from it took longer to heal than the other injuries.

Finally fed up he opened his maw wide and let out another ear piercing 'Death Scream'. The screeching noise caused everyone to stop what they were doing and clamp their hands over their ears, which was exactly what GranDracmon was hoping for. MagnaAngemon was hovering in one spot covering his ears trying to wait out the attack.

As soon as GranDracmon stopped his attack, he backhanded MagnaAngemon hard enough to make him slam into the cavern wall. The angel digimon grasped the wall with one hand to keep him from falling to the ground. The other hand was holding onto his side in a sad attempt to ease the pain.

GranDracmon smiled wickedly. It was only a matter of time before they were all destroyed.

But his excitement was quickly doused when a bright purple light illuminated the cavern. Everyone turned to look where the light was coming from. The black casing that had enclosed Löweemon was glowing. Every second a pulse of energy was released from the black mass. After a few more pulses cracks began to appear over the surface.

The cracks spread to cover the whole thing. Dark purple light began to emanate from the cracks before it finally exploded. The familiar figure of JägerLoweemon stood in its wake.

The lion digimon roared angrily and began to shoot blasts of dark energy at GranDracmon. The large digimon raised its arms to protect itself and began backing away.

TK recognized Kouichi's beast spirit and began to worry. Last time he tried to beast spirit evolve things ended badly. Could he control it this time?

GranDracmon began to focus his attacks on JägerLoweemon. The lion was very nimble, and easily dodged any of the attacks that came his way. While all of his attention was focused on JägerLoweemon, MagnaAngemon managed to get close to him and sliced at his leg.

The sword cut deeply causing the evil digimon to howl in pain and forcing him to kneel on the floor to relieve his injured leg of having to hold up his weight. GranDracmon glared at them and began firing more ice attacks, forcing them to keep their distance. TK jumped slightly when JägerLoweemon landed next to him after avoiding one of GranDracmon's attacks.

"Kouichi?" TK asked nervously. The lion digimon turned toward TK. The two of them made eye contact and TK froze and looked into the red eyes of JägerLoweemon. The last time he saw Kouichi's beast spirit, his eyes were a bottomless bit of anger, rage, and feral aggression. This time, his eyes were calm.

JägerLoweemon growled quietly and bowed his head at TK before bounding away. "Good luck," TK whispered watching his partner and JägerLoweemon continue to fight the larger digimon.

The battle continued with neither side pulling ahead. Nefertimon managed to remove the ice from her wing and took back to the air. She could fly now, but it was much slower and more unsteady than it used to be.

GranDracmon was busy trying to keep his enemies away from him. With swipes of his claws and the occasional beam of ice he kept the other digimon at a safe distance. Every once and a while,GranDracmon became over whelmed and an attack or two got past his defenses, but his great regenerative skills allowed him to continue fighting.

"We should wrap this up and find the others," Ken said, "I'm sure Davis and everyone else could use some help up top."

"That's easier said than done," TK groaned.

GranDracmon was getting desperate; to defend himself he fired a bunch of ice beams in random directions hoping to catch his opponents off guard. Even Ken and the three rookies, had to dive out of the way to avoid getting turned into a popsicle.

The ground was covered in a thin layer of ice making it harder to maneuver. Nefertimon and MagnaAngemon were alright since they could fly, but JägerLoweemon had to struggle to remain standing without slipping.

GranDracmon took the opportunity to throw himself at JägerLoweemon. JägerLoweemon quickly leaped out of the way but lost his footing as he landed causing him to slide over the ice. For his size,GranDracmon was able to move across the ice with ease. He began running at JägerLoweemon, who was struggling to get back on his feet. So far every attempt caused him to slip and fall back down onto the ice.

Nefertimon and MagnaAngemon shouted warnings to Kouichi as they flew toward him trying to intercept the larger digimon that was racing toward him. Nefertimon bombarded GranDracmon's back with her 'Rosetta Stone', but it didn't even slow him down.

Unable to escape, JägerLoweemon snarled and glared at the evil digimon as he finally managed to get to his feet. But GranDracmon was already above him with a paw raised to crush him. Before the attack came a large axe spun through the air and impaled the evil digimon's side. GranDracmon howled in pain and backed away from JägerLoweemon

Eyes widened at the sudden intrusion during the battle. A large white creature burst into the room and began to pound his chest victoriously. GranDracmon glared at the newcomer and fired a 'Crystal Revolution'. The new digimon just smiled and raised another axe to block the attack. GranDracmon let out a surprised gasp when the weapon didn't freeze over.

The white digimon began to laugh a playfully swung his axe between his fingers. With GranDracomon distracted JägerLoweemon attacked him from the side with an 'Ebony Blast'. Nefertimon and MagnaAngemon had gotten over their shock at the arrival of the new digimon and flew around GranDracmon's body trying to inflict as much damage as they could. GranDracmon snarled in frustration and ripped the axe from his side and threw it to the ground. With the axe removed, the gash slowly began to stitch itself back together. With another growl he turned back toward his old opponents.

The new digimon ran over the icy floor with ease and came to a stop next to the frozen Stingmon. Not knowing who this guy was Gomamon, Biyomon, and Palmon stood in front of Stingmon blocking him off from the much larger digimon.

The big digimon raised his hands in surrender, "Relax guys, it's just me."

Ken's jaw dropped. He knew that voice, it was a lot more gravely than before but it definitely was him. "Tommy?"

"That's right," Korikakkumon smiled. The rookie digimon gaped at him. That huge thing was Tommy?

"Where's Mimi?" Palmon asked worriedly.

"Don't worry; the others are on their way. I just wanted to get in on some of the action," Tommy said, throwing his thumb over his shoulder towards where the fight was still going on. "But before I get back to the fun," he began, "Let me take care of this." Korikakkumon looked over the ice that covered Stingmon. He gently blew on the ice.

Ken and the three rookies looked on with confused expressions. But in an instant their jaws dropped and the watched in amazement as the ice began to melt. Within a matter of moments, the ice that surrounded Stingmon had completely melted away. Stingmon crouched on the ground furiously rubbing his arms trying to get some heat back into them.

"T-thanks," Stingmon stuttered. Korikkakumon smiled before taking off toward the fight, picking up his fallen axe along the way. Ken moved next to his partner and rested his hand on his arm. He was still freezing.

"How are you doing?" Ken asked.

"I'll be okay once the feeling returns to my limbs," Stingmon tried to joke to keep Ken from worrying.

"Just rest for now it looks like they have everything covered." Ken and Stingmon watched the battle coming to a close.

Now that Korikakkumon was here the ice was no longer a problem. He managed to melt the frozen ground allowing JägerLoweemon to move around freely once again. Between the Nefertimon, MagnaAngemon, and the two beasts GranDracmon had no chance.

JägerLoweemon charged in with his 'Dark Master', digging his claws into the side of his opponent as he whizzed by. Now that he was unbalanced he was an easy target for Korikakkumon's axes. The snow beast threw his axes at the opposite side that Kouichi attacked, causing them to impale both knees of the four legged digimon. With all of his legs wounded, GranDracmon crumpled to the ground.

Nefertimon dived in pelting his body with stones, forcing him to raise his hands in order to protect his face. That was the perfect distraction that MagnaAngemon was looking for. With GranDracmon's attention elsewhere, MagnaAngemon flew down behind him and stabbed him with his sword.

The sword pierced straight through his back and erupted from his chest. GranDracmon let out one final ear piercing screech before exploding into a flurry of data.

Gomamon, Biyomon, and Palmon let out cheers of joy as the enemies data rained down around them. Ken was smiling as he helped Stingmon stand on wobbly legs.

"You guys did great!" TK cheered when MagnaAngemon and Nefertimon landed next to him and Kari.

"Is she okay?" Nefertimon asked, looking at Kari. Kari was still curled up next to TK; her shivering has stopped but she still was frozen in place.

"I hope so." That was the only thing he could say. Deep laughter interrupted their thoughts. Korikakkumon was standing next to JägerLoweemon and flexing his newly achieved muscles. "Where'd that new digimon come from?" MagnaAngemon just shrugged. He helped them to defeat GranDracmon so he must be on their side.

"JOE!"

Gomamon's voice caused them to turn around, temporarily forgetting about the new digimon. Their other missing friends had just arrived and were running to meet their partners. Biyomon practically dove into Sora's outstretched arms as Mimi and Joe bend down to hug their partners. Kouji hung back and watched the happy reunion.

"Where's Tommy?" TK asked noticing the other boy was missing. Kouji silently pointed. TK followed his jester, his eyes landing on the large digimon who waved at him.

"Korikakkumon at the moment," Tommy smiled. TK's jaw dropped, that _thing_ was Tommy. It was plausible that Löweemon ends up becoming JägerLoweemon, but little Kumamon turning into that?! It was a bit hard to believe.

"Is Kari alright?" Mimi asked walking up to the rest of them with Palmon in her arms. TK's expression saddened as he looked down to Kari. She seemed to have calmed down slightly, but not enough to interact with them yet.

"That digimon we were fighting kept releasing huge amounts of dark energy. And you know Kari and darkness don't go together well," TK gave them the gist of what had happened to them.

"Give her to me," Kouji said kneeling down next to them. Reluctantly TK passed over Kari. She groaned slightly during the transition. Kouji sat down cross-legged and held onto her shoulders as she slouched slightly. Everyone gathered around to watch.

Kouji began to give off a light blue light that radiated from his body. Slowly Kari's eyes twitched before opening slowly. She finally opened her eyes and gasped. Now fully awake, she lunged forward wrapping her arms around his neck, catching the surprised Kouji off guard. Kouji was leaning back using both his hands to catch himself from being pushed to the ground as Kari buried her face in his neck making Kouji's face turn bright red.

"The hell?! Get off!" Once Kouji regained his balance he tried to forcibly shove the girl off of him. Tommy and Kouichi couldn't hold back their laughter, making Kouji glare at them.

After another harsh shove, Kari let go and smiled at him. "Thank you so much. When the darkness came I felt like it swallowed me. I was so lost." Her smile faded and she shivered a little recalling the past events. "At first I thought I was going to be stuck there forever, and then I saw this light. Sorry about hugging you, I was just so happy," she blushed.

During the whole thing, TK glared at Kouji, but tried to hide it. At least Kari was alright now, that was the main thing. "Are you alright now?" TK rested a hand on Kari's shoulder.

"Much better, but still a little shaken," She smiled at him. TK extended his hand to help her to her feet. She grasped his hand allowing him to pull her up. TK smiled when she didn't release her hold on his hand.

Kouji was busy dusting off the dirt from his clothes. When he was done he turned angrily to his brother and Tommy, who were still in their beast spirit forms laughing.

"Shut up!"

Kouichi raised a paw to try to cover his snickering, and Tommy only began laughing harder, tears appearing on the corners of his eyes.

Ignoring the teasing going on around them Kari turned to face her other friends, "So how'd you guys escape?" Kari asked.

"Well that's a pretty interesting story," Sora giggled.

* * *

_"Tommy?" Mimi asked quietly._

_The huge digimon grunted before turning his head slowly to gaze upon the other occupants of the cell. His eyes roamed slowly, taking in each of their faces. Slowly a smirk appeared on his face, showing of sharp fangs._

_This caused them to take a tentative step back. But before panic could ensue, Korikakkumon raised his hand giving them thumbs up._

_A collective sigh was shared throughout the humans. Kouji let his swords drop. They faded away before they hit the floor. "Don't scare us like that!" Mimi wined._

"_Sorry," Korikakkumon rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. His voice was a lot deeper and had a deep growl attached to it; but it defiantly was Tommy's voice._

"_You're huge!" Sora gaped, as she took in his huge figure making Tommy chuckle._

"_Let's see how strong you are now." Kouji gestured toward the bars, tauntingly._

_Following Kouji's gesture__,__ Korikakkumon stepped forward, cracking his knuckles as he went. "No problem." He wrapped his huge hands around the bars and tugged. At first the metal didn't budge. A few seconds later, after a rather frightening snarl from Korikakkumon, the bars began to groan and bend. It took about a minute or two for him to get the bars spread out enough for them to pass through it._

_It was a bit of a squeeze for the big digimon, forcing him to side step through the gap. "That was amazing," Joe praised. Tommy puffed out his chest proudly taking deep breaths through his nose, trying to hide the fact how difficult that actually was._

_Another rumble shook the room, reminding them that there was another battle going on elsewhere. "Let's get going!" Kouji shouted over the rumbling. Korikakkumon threw his shoulder into the door making it fly off his hinges and slam into the opposite wall._

_Korikakkumon stepped into the hallway first. He looked down the corridor checking for any guards before signaling to the others that it was safe to come out. Once everyone was out they dashed down the hall, following the sounds of battle._

"_I'm positive that it's the others that are fighting up ahead," Joe said between breaths, "You should go on ahead of us and see if you can help them. We'll be right behind you." Tommy nodded before rushing off ahead of them._

* * *

"Looks like Tommy got here just on time," Joe said, assessing the damage in the room. There were cracks and craters littering the floor along with a few bits and patches of ice that Tommy hadn't had a chance to melt.

"That guy was a real pain you should have seen him," Gomamon said.

"But if we were able to digivolve he wouldn't have had a chance," Biyomon boasted.

"Now that were all together again we should have no problems," Palmon cheered. The others joined in until they were all hyped up and the group's morale was sky high.

"Well, we do have one problem," Sora said quietly not wanting to bring down their excitement. "We kind of had our digivices and D-Terminals stolen."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Ken said pulling out his own digivice. "We can track them with ours and get them back pretty quickly." They looked on the screen of Ken's D-3 and saw two groups of blinking dots. "There is yours."

"Most of the guards seemed to have left already it shouldn't take too long to get them back," TK said.

"Then what are we waiting for!" Tommy shouted, "Let's go!"

**A/N: I wanted to make Tommy a bit playful since he is the youngest of the warriors, and since Takuya is most likely his role model that's bound to happen. But at the same time Korikakkumon needed to be bad ass. **


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

**A/N: I'm so sorry! This has to be the longest break between my updates. I can use finals as an excuse for the first week but after that I was just plain laziness. Here you go and sorry again for the long wait T~T**

Izzy winced as Callismon leaped into the air and punched MegaKabuterimon in the face making him tumble to the earth. As he fell, he accidently knocked into Halsemon and the two of them crashed to the ground.

"Sorry," MegaKabuterimon said as he pushed himself up. Halsemon was a bit upset but didn't hold it against the larger digimon. Callismon was proving to be a real pain; he was fast and his attacks had a lot of power behind them.

Callismon landed with a thud and raised his gun. Beetlemon and Kazemon dove toward him, gathering their elements getting ready for an attack. Both parties simultaneously attacked each other. The bullets collided with bolts of lightning and energy enforced wind causing many small scale explosions. The occasional bullet managed to get through, forcing Beetlemon and Kazemon to gain more altitude to avoid getting hit.

As Callismon had his eyes focused on the two flying digimon, Digmon managed to sneak closer to him. He let loose a 'Gold Rush' attack at the distracted opponent. All of the drills made contact causing Callismon to wince, but that was all that Digmon had succeeded in.

At the unexpected attack, Callismon was a little ticked off. He turned to growl at the culprit before lunging at him. Digmon's only escape was underground. Even thoughCallismon was much faster than him, even he couldn't reach him there.

Quickly, Digmon constructed a tunnel to use for his escape. Callismon just missed him and stopped next to the opening in the earth that Digmon's body had just disappeared into. With a feral grin, he aimed his gun into the hole left by Digmon. Callismon fired off multiple rounds, one after another. He would have kept going if MegaKabuterimon hadn't tackled him to the ground.

Cody was frozen in fear. He was so worried about his partner's safety. His unease must have been written all over his face since Yolei came and rested her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure he's alright."

Cody was unable to answer and merely nodded his head. It was obvious that he didn't believe her, so Yolei remained by his side trying her best to support him. But nothing she could do would insure Digmon's safety.

Back in the fight, the two large digimon wrestled on the ground. MegaKabuterimon had a slight advantage with his four arms against Callismon's two. But the enemy had much more brute strength powering his limbs.

Two of MegaKabuterimon's hands were gripped tightly around the barrel of the gun, trying to force it off toward the side. A shot from this close range would be lethal, so he needed to keep the gun pointed away from his body. One of his other hands was locked with Callismon's clawed hand, and the other was holding onto the enemy's wrist.

Eventually, Callismon managed to pin MegaKabuterimon to the ground. Callismon proved to be much stronger making it impossible for him to get back up. Being flipped onto the hardened elytra covering his wings made him look like an upside-down turtle, which didn't help his situation either.

Having pushed MegaKabuterimon to the ground, it created an opening in the fight that the other digimon were looking for. With Callismon's attention focused on his beaten opponent, he wasn't expecting a flurry of attacks from the other digimon floating in the sky. Callismon was momentarily stunned and stepped back from MegaKabuterimon, cringing a little in pain. Beetlemon flew in with a 'Lightning Blitz', forcing more space between the two gargantuan digimon.

With Beetlemon buying him some time, MegaKabuterimon rolled over sideways betting back to his feet, panting slightly.

"That was close," Izzy said, resting his hand over his rapidly beating heart, "This fight could be going better."

A slight shacking from the ground a few feet away from them made Izzy, Yolei, and Cody to jump. They breathed a sigh of relief when Armadillomon popped his head out of the ground. Cody quickly ran over to his partner while Armadillomon slowly pulled himself free of the earth.

He was covered in scratches and scorch marks. But at least he was alive, that was all Cody cared about when he bent down and wrapped the wounded digimon in his arms. Armadillomon lifted one of his hands and patted his human counterpart gently, "Don't worry about me Cody. I'm alright, just a bit ruffed up."

Cody didn't respond to his partner and proceeded to try to wipe the scorch marks from his shell. The outer edges came off easily, but the darker areas were persistent and would require some scrubbing to remove.

Back in the fight, Callismon managed to knock Beetlemon away, but his body gave an occasional involuntary twitch from the electricity coursing through it. Beetlemon scrambled to his feet and landed next to Yolei and Izzy while the others launched their best attacks at the momentarily stunned Callismon.

MegaKabuterimon, Halsemon, and Kazemon attacked Callismon with everything they had. Their attacks collided with the large digimon causing an explosion. A smoke cloud from the explosion filled the area hiding Callismon from their view.

"Did we get him?" Kazemon asked. She hovered between Halsemon and MegaKabuterimon as they looked down upon the battlefield.

Suddenly, Callismon burst through the smoke. He leapt backwards putting some distance between himself and the other digimon. Once he landed, he collapsed to one knee panting heavily. After shaking offthe pain, Callismon stood up proudly and roared angrily at them. He tried to control his breathing; forcing huge breaths through his nose to hide his heavy panting. He wasn't about to be defeated so easily.

Callismon was pummeled with more attacks. He raised his gun to block some of the moves, but jumped back at the last second to avoid any major damage. When he landed, Kazemon was there to deliver multiple kicks to his abdomen. Callismon grunted from the impacts before trying to take a few swipes at her. Luckily for Zoe, she was a fast flyer and was able to dodge Callismon's claws and escape unharmed.

JP turned toward Izzy, "Any ideas?" he asked. He was hoping that Izzy was collecting data about their opponent during the fight and was able to come up with some kind of strategy.

Izzy closed his eyes for a moment, going over everything he observed in the fight so far. Callismon was amazingly fast for his size and was incredibly strong. But from that last attack it appeared that he couldn't deal with hard hits that well.

"We need to find a way to slow him down first of all," Izzy began, "If given the opportunity we need to nail him with everything we got to actually hurt him. With enough hits like that we should be able to defeat him."

"But we keep getting caught, and he's getting just as many hits on us if not more," JP explained, "We are already down one. By the time we can find a way to keep him still we're going to be too weak to finish him off."

"Then we're going to need more firepower," Yolei cut in. No matter how they looked at it, that's what it come down too.

Izzy sighed and rubbed his temple, shaking his head slowly. "I assume you're thinking the same thing that I have been thinking?" JP said**,** watching Izzy.

"Your beast spirits are powerful, but are the worth the risk?" Izzy asked. He still hadn't opened his eyes.

"Yeah, I think they are. They worked well for us in the past and now should be no different."

"But what about the risks?" Cody asked walking up to them with Armadillomon walking slowly behind him. "It is safe to try it now?"

"It's either that or we lose to this guy," JP snapped back, "Look, I'm worried about the outcome too, but I think this is our best bet right now. I'm going to need your help if this is going to work." Beetlemon looked between Izzy and Cody.

"We'll help you in any way we can," Izzy said confidently. Cody nodded silently.

"Thanks," JP said. "Can you guys buy us some time?" he asked Yolei.

"Sure, no problem."

Yolei called to her partner to explain what was going on, and for him to pass the news onto the others. Halsemon quickly told the others the plan. Zoe looked a bit nervous but in the end, they all agreed to help stall Callismon to give Beetlemon the time he needed.

"Well it's now or never," Beetlemon said as he stepped forward putting some space between him and the humans.

"Good luck," Cody whispered.

Static electricity crackled in the air, making them take a tentative step away from the now glowing Beetlemon. The energy in the air became heavier and a Beetlemon's form was engulfed in a yellow glow.

Cody and Izzy began to feel a tingling sensation spread across their bodies. It wasn't a very pleasant sensation. The light surrounding Beetlemon increased to blinding proportions filling the area and obscuring their vision.

* * *

When the light died down Izzy and Cody found themselves in some kind of factory. It looked like it was abandoned. There were a few flickering lights that illuminated the area that showed the horrible condition the place was kept. The machinery seemed to be broken beyond repair; most of the body was rusted, some with metal plates that had completely broken off. The ceiling was filled with holes, wires and broken piping hanging down and threatening to fall on them.

"Where are we? And what happened to everyone else?" Cody asked**,** stepping closer to the older boy.

"I'm not sure," Izzy answered nervously, "What happened here?"

Both boys jumped when some of the machines next to them made a sputtering noise and sparks started shooting out of it. Some of the working machinery further into the factory began to function making deep groaning noises. More of the lights flickered to life showing them a passage way off the side slightly hidden by a fallen scrap of metal.

"Our partners aren't here and this place isn't exactly safe. What should we do?" Cody looked around nervously.

"I guess we can look for a way out, and be really careful." Izzy wasn't comfortable being here. It gave it him a weird feeling.

The two boys shared a tentative glance before they stepped forward through the newly found passageway. It led them to an open hall with glass windows along the side. Most of them were shattered leaving bits of broken glass to crunch beneath their feet.

"I'm surprised anything in here still works," Izzy said looking at the struggling machinery that surrounded them.

On their right, a large flat screen flickered to life. It showed kids playing in the schoolyard. All of them were having fun, except for one boy who sat beneath a tree all by himself. A younger looking JP sat in the shade of the tree drawing simple shapes in the dirt with a broken stick.

The images were blurry and the audio a bit fuzzy but the message was clear. While growing up**,** JP had no friends; he was all alone. The boy in the video finally threw his stick aside and walked up to the group of playing kids, only to be turned away.

The image on the screen faded, leaving a stunned Izzy and Cody staring at the blank screen. "This place is getting really creepy," Cody said nervously**,** "But I don't think we can leave just yet. If that video was anything to go by, this factory has something to do with JP. He might be somewhere around here."

"Right, we can't just leave him here," Izzy agreed. They continued walking down the hall passing by another screen that flickered to life. They stopped to watch as the next scene began to play.

JP was a bit older in this film and looked to be around 11 years old. Unlike the last one he was surrounded by people as he did some of his favorite magic tricks. The people around him laughed and clapped, truly enjoying the show. JP looked happy too, until he ran out of tricks and his 'friends' around him turned their backs and walked away. JP let out a deep sigh and the image went black. A crack appeared in the middle of the screen, wisps of smoke leaking out between them.

"Why are we looking at JP's memories? Who is showing them to us?" The same thoughts were running through Cody and Izzy's minds. They felt like they were intruding into JP's past but at the same time they were curious and wanted to know more.

A sudden hissing sound from farther down the hall caught their attention. Without hesitation**,** they sprinted toward the location of the noise. It was coming from a broken down door leading to a separate room. Bright flashes of light were coming from it.

They gasped at the sight before them. A giant blue rhinoceros beetle lay trapped beneath two fallen support pillars with wires and cables tangled around its head and legs. Behind it, another screen lit up. This time there was no video, just the sound of JP's voice.

"_I do have friends that care about me. They don't hang out with me just for my things, they like me for who I am."_

"_I need to keep telling myself that. But what if I wasn't the warrior of thunder; would they still be my friends?"_

The wires that lay on the floor suddenly came to life. Like snakes, they wrapped themselves around the neck of the beetle and began to strangle it. The bug began thrashing and hissing, trying to pry itself free of the mess. The pillars kept it weighed down, and the cables and wires seemed to be sapping its strength.

Izzy and Cody took hurried steps backwards, not wanting to get caught in the struggle. But within moments the beetle's struggling died down, until it completely stopped moving. The two boys stood tentatively in the doorway waiting for something to happen.

The speakers came to life again, filling the room with JP's saddened voice.

"_If I disappeared would anyone even notice I was gone?"_

This time bits of the ceiling began crumbling down on them, making the beetle screech in pain as more weight was added to the crushing force on its back. Cody ignored Izzy's cries of warning and rushed forward. He began pulling on the wires trying to loosen their hold. As Cody worked on trying the free the trapped creature, sparks of electricity showered them from the broken connections in the ceiling.

"What are you doing!?" Izzy shouted. He ran over and tried to pull the younger boy away to some place safer.

"It sounds like JP's depression is hurting this thing," Cody grunted as he pulled on the wires with all of his strength, "something wants to keep JP upset and kill whatever this is." Cody may have had a point but this was getting really dangerous.

Izzy looked over the mess the beetle had gotten itself into. "Let's try to get these things off first," Izzy instructed and pointed towards the rubble that lay on top of its shell. Cody nodded and began to try to clear some of the rocks away.

It was hard work, but they managed to clear some of it away. But the larger pieces were much too heavy for them to lift.

'_Why are you helping me?'_

The deep voice startled them. It sounded like JP's voice when he was Beetlemon that was dropped down a few octaves. Izzy and Cody looked down to see that the beetle was the staring at them. Was he the one speaking?

"Are you JP? Did all those videos really happen?" Cody asked.

'_Why do you care?'_

"Because we're your friends," Izzy said, kneeling down to be at the same eye level as the beetle.

'_I don't have any friends. Anyone that gets close to me only wants something from me. I don't need friends.'_

The wires around the beetle tightened making him hiss in pain. His breath was coming in short gasps as his windpipe and chest continued to be constricted.

"That's not true," Cody said sadly, "everyone needs friends." He pulled in vain on the wires trying to pry them away from the beetle. "You have all the other warriors and now us too."

Izzy stepped away and looked around the room. He and Cody just didn't have the brute strength it took to free the creature. He found a pipe and an old piece of metal with a jagged edge, these would have to do.

Izzy silently passed the piece of metal to Cody, who thanked him and began slicing away at the wires. Izzy climbed on top of some of the rubble next to the trapped beetle and shoved the pipe between one of the fallen pillars and the beetles back. With enough leverage and using the angle of the shell**,** he should be able to slide the pillar off of him.

"If you don't believe that they truly are your friends," Izzy said between grunts as he struggled to move the pillar, "then we can be you friends starting from now."

The beetle turned his head to look at Izzy and then back to Cody. _'You would truly consider being my friends? You know nothing about me.'_

"When we get you out of here there will be plenty of time for that," Cody smiled. The wires were finally coming off. The jagged metal wasn't a very good cutting tool but it did the job. The wires also seemed to be getting looser, odd.

With a final shove, Izzy managed to remove one of the pillars from the beetle's back. With enough weight finally gone, the beetle managed to push himself to his feet, snapping the wires that held him strapped down.

Izzy and Cody scrambled away as the creature stood proudly. They tried to hide their nervousness as it started at them. _'I will hold you to your word. Now leave.'_

"How?" Izzy asked.

'_The exit of course,' _the beetle said in a taunting voice. He turned around and tilted his head toward the back of the room. Now that the beetle's body wasn't blocking their view, they could easily see a closed door with a red luminescent exit sign above it. Unlike the rest of the factory, the door seemed to be in good shape.

'_You better get going, things are about to get interesting. I will see you later, friends.'_ The form of the beetle faded away. Cody and Izzy stood there, until the body was completely gone and they were the only ones in the room.

"Come on," Izzy said, pulling Cody along. He reached forward and grasped the door knob. It was unlocked and opened easily. The two boys stepped forward into the dark as the door slammed shut behind them.

* * *

From the darkness the two boys were suddenly thrust into the light. The sudden change made them flinch and furiously blink their eyes. Now the strange factory was nowhere in sight and they were back in the clearing facing Callismon.

"Now we're back! Just what is going on?!" Cody practically shouted as he looked around taking in the area making sure they were in fact back where they started.

"What are you talking about?" Yolei asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "You didn't go anywhere?"

Izzy and Cody both look startled.

"When Beetlemon started glowing Cody and I were transported to this old factory and talked with this giant beetle," Izzy explained.

"But he started getting all glowy only a second ago. There was no way you two could have gone anywhere and I wouldn't have noticed," Yolei said.

Something really strange was going on, but now was not the time to figure it out. The light began glowing brighter catching the attention of the other digimon that were fighting. The cracking of static electricity filled the air as the glow slowly died down and MetalKabuterimon appeared.

Callismon carefully eyed his new challenge, checking to see if he was going to be any kind of threat. Zoe fluttered nervously in the air. She warned the others to keep a safe distance just in case JP wasn't in total control. The first time he managed to beast spirit evolve, he nearly brought the cave they were in down on top of them.

Everyone waited with baited breath for the new digimon to make a move. Impatient, Callismon raised his gun and pointed it directly at MetalKabuterimon. Better to get rid of him now rather than waiting and seeing what kind of power he had.

He fired off multiple rounds at the metal digimon only for the bullets to ricochet harmlessly off MetalKabuterimon's armor. The newly beast spirit evolved JP turned toward Callismon and raised his own weapons in retaliation.

Callismon's eyes widened as he watched the two cannons gather electrical energy. Callismon barely got out of the way in time as MetalKabuterimon's 'Bolo Thunder' sailed past him. More electrical attacks came his way, but he managed to dodge all of them.

JP shook his head trying to clear the buzzing that was obscuring his thoughts. His mind was more or less clear; knowing just who he was supposed to fight and who his friends were, but that annoying buzzing was making it difficult to hear anything and was starting to give him quite the headache.

"Hey Izzy," JP shouted looking over his shoulder at the digidestined of knowledge, "We got the fire power. Now find a way to slow him down." Izzy nodded and began to think of different strategies that they could try.

"How are you feeling?" Zoe asked as she descended to hover a bit above JP's head. If he was able to talk to them that means he should be in control, but there was no harm in double checking.

"I have a bit of a headache but it's tolerable."

"That's great!" She was stopped from saying anymore when a spray of bullets came their way. Kazemon flew back into the sky while MetalKabuterimon was protected by his armor. Callismon was playing it safe and firing from a distance and keeping away from all of their attacks.

"What do we do?" Halsemon asked when Kazemon joined them again.

"We need to slow him down so MetalKabuterimon can get a clear shot," she explained.

"None of us has any attacks that would slow him though," MegaKabuterimon said as he looked over their little group and thought of the abilities that they possessed.

"Aim for the legs then," Halsemon decided before charging in, toward Callismon. Kazemon and MegaKabuterimon flew after him.

"Do you think their idea is going to work?" Yolei asked.

"It's the only thing we got right now," Cody responded, not taking his eyes off the battle taking place.

Callismon was constantly on the move, evading all of the attacks that came at him. He gave them a sinister smile, now the fight was getting exciting. Instead of charging at them he turned around and fled into the forest.

Without hesitating, the others chased after him. Zoe and Halsemon dodged trees as they followed close behind Callismon. But because of their size, JP and MegaKabuterimon were stuck at the edge of the trees.

"Stop!" Izzy shouted after them, "He's trying to separate us! Come back!"

Kazemon and Halsemon heard his warning, but it was a bit too late. Deciding that he had led them far enough into the forest, Callismon immediately turned around and dashed toward the two digimon. Caught off guard, Kazemon and Halsemon were easy targets for Callismon's claws.

Callismon swiped at them stunning them and rebounded off a nearby tree and nailed them again. The second hit knocked the two of them to the ground, causing Halsemon to revert back to Hawkmon. Acting quickly, Zoe scooped up the injured digimon and headed back toward the others. Callismon's claw gouged the ground where Kazemon was a second ago, leaving deep trenches in the ground.

Zoe burst from the trees and flew straight toward Yolei, and deposited Hawkmon in her arms. Yolei was distressed but thanked Zoe over and over for saving him and wrapping her arms securely around Hawkmon.

Hawkmon was slightly depressed that he needed to be saved. He hugged his partner back and thanked Zoe quietly. Zoe nodded at them and flew back to where the fighting was beginning again.

"He's too fast to stop," MegaKabuterimon groaned after another of his attacks missed. Kazemon was now probably the only one that could keep up with him, but she didn't have the strength it would take so slow him down.

As it was beginning to look bleak, four attacks came out of now where and slammed straight into Callismon. The stunned digimon let out a loud roar of pain as he was thrown backwards. While Callismon was recovering everyone turned to see where the attacks had come from.

Zudomon, Lilymon, Birdramon, and Korikakkumon were rushing towards them. Behind them they could see Joe, Sora, and Mimi trying to keep up with them.

"Great timing," Yolei smiled and waved at them as they got closer. Once Yolei was close enough, Mimi threw her arms around the younger girl in a hug, trying not to crush poor Hawkmon. "So the rescue mission was a success!"

While the humans rejoiced in being reunited the digimon joined their friends in facing off Callismon.

"And here's the guy that can slow him for us," MetalKabuterimon said as he happily welcomed the others.

"What do you need?" Korikakkumon asked.

"Keep him still; one good blast should finish him off. With this many people we're only going to need one good shot," JP was confident they could win now.

Korikakkumon nodded and slipped away to the side. JP gave the signal leading the others to attack. Callismon did his best to dodge the massive amount of attacks that came his way. He was clipped by a few of them but he didn't stop moving. If he was idle for even a second it would be over.

Between their attacks, Callismon returned fire causing them to back off a little. That caused a break in their attacks that he was looking for. Taking aim, he raised his gun and pointed it at MegaKabuterimon. That one was fighting the longest and doesn't have as tough armor as the mechanical digimon on the ground.

When he stopped to aim gave Tommy enough time to grab him. From within the shadows, Korikakkumon's braids tipped with glowing arrow heads shot out and wrapped themselves around Callismon.

Suddenly rendered immobile, Callismon began to panic. Forget about attacking, his main concern was escaping. He struggled, but with both his arms pinned to his body there wasn't much he could do.

That was the moment they were waiting for. MetalKabuterimon leaned forward bringing up the scope on his back, readying the canon sitting on his head. The others began following his lead reading their strongest attacks.

At the very last second, Korikakkumon pulled back getting clear of the devastating collage of attacks. The last thing Callismon saw was a rainbow of multi-colored attacks before he was utterly destroyed.

"Nice shot everyone!" Korikakkumon congratulated them. He was slightly scorched but unharmed.

Everyone gathered around sharing the mini adventure they just shared. They listened to the play back of their escape along with the battle with the just beaten Callismon.

"How are you feeling? You all there?" Kazemon landed next to MetalKabuterimon. Izzy and Cody took a couple steps toward them.

"I feel alright," he said quietly, "My head is a little fuzzy but I don't think I'll be a danger to anyone."

"Do you know what happened back there?" Cody asked, "We were like transported to this old broken down factory or something. We saw your memories and befriended this giant bug."

JP chuckled at the bug comment before answering, "I'm not too sure exactly what happened but I do know what you're talking about. You may not have seen me but I was definitely there, I can recall the conversation you guys were having with the 'bug'." JP lowered his voice not wanting to have everyone listening in. "I think you guys calmed down my beast spirit enough so that I could control it. But if you don't mind please don't go telling everyone what you saw."

"Of course," Izzy said. JP's memories were painful; he could see why he wouldn't want everyone to know about them.

Zoe was curious to what the two boys saw that JP wanted to keep quiet. But she held herself back from asking, everyone deserved to have their own secrets even from their best friends. After JP thanked Izzy and Cody, they four of them began to listen to what the others were talking about.

"That battle ended much faster than I thought it would," Zudomon pouted.

"We'll next time be here from the beginning," Armadillomon teased. He and Hawkmon were feeling better. Maybe not in top fighting condition but a simple nap would fix that.

"Since were done here we should go find the others," Yolei said.

"Ken, TK, Kari, and the twins went to help them," Sora said, "They went this way." Climbing on Garudamon's shoulder she led the victorious group toward their next destination.

**A/N: JP ins't my most favorite character and he tends to be neglected in a lot of fics, I hope I did him justice. There are a few more beast spirits to go and I hope I'm not boring you with my...bonding scenes. Each person has their own personalities and their own faults so I'm hopping that the variety will keep you reading :)**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Garurumon hadn't been this frightened in a long time. His friends were all incapacitated, surrounded by some strange dark aura, and he was left alone to fight an abnormally strong ultimate. SkullBaluchimon began to take slow steps toward them, its gaze fixed on Flamedramon. The poor armor digimon had collapsed to the ground with his hands gripping his head. He was closest to it when the attack came, making him an easy target.

Taking action, Garurumon began his attack on the advancing digimon. His 'Howling Blaster' made contact but barley seemed to faze SkullBaluchimon who was completely zoned in on his prey. Out of desperation, Garurumon ran at the other digimon, fangs bared.

Faced with a new opponent, SkullBaluchimon focused on Garurumon and soon forgot about Flamedramon and the others.

With the skeletal digimon distracted Matt, Tai, and Davis ran over to the three semi-conscious digimon. Tai stood next to MetalGreymon and was talking quietly to him, trying to get some kind of response. The big digimon lay on his stomach with his eyes clenched tightly. He gave an occasional twitch, but other than that he didn't even acknowledge his partner's presence.

Flamedramon was in the same boat. No matter how much Davis shouted and shook his partner he couldn't wake him up.

Since Garurumon was still awake, Matt decided to check on Takuya. The warrior of fire was kneeling with his head resting in his hand while the other formed a fist.

"Takuya?" Matt shook the warrior's shoulder gently not wanting to hurt or startle him. Up close, Matt could see that Takuya was mumbling something. He could see his lips moving but he couldn't make out anything he was saying.

This time, Matt grabbed both his shoulders and shook him violently. Takuya kept mumbling incoherently to himself. Now that Matt could see his eyes, he noticed that they were blank and glassy. He needed to somehow snap him out of it. He talked to him and shook him a bit more, but nothing worked.

Without much thought, he gave Takuya a solid right hook, knocking the poor guy to the ground. Matt had actually hit him more out of frustration, but it seemed to do the trick. He watched in amazement as the dark aura slowly faded away from him.

Agunimon was lying flat on his back, he groaned as the last wisp of dark energy dissipated. "Oww, what gives?" Takuya sat up rubbing his slightly swollen cheek.

Agunimon stood up and took in the scene. Unlike Matt, Tai and Davis were unsuccessful in waking their partners. SkullBaluchimon and Garurumon were still fighting. For being weaker than the other digimon, Garurumon seemed to be doing quite well. Garurumon was fast enough to evade the claws and fangs of SkullBaluchimon. But he still hadn't found an opportunity to attack yet, due to his constant dodging. If he got caught, it would be all over.

"Thanks, I guess," Agunimon glared lightly at Matt. He didn't need to hit him so hard just to wake him up. Agunimon rubbed his sore cheek before running over to help Garurumon. SkullBaluchimon lunged forward snapping his jaws at Garurumon, only to miss him by a few inches. Before it could turn to chase its prey, SkullBaluchimon was stopped from multiple fireballs colliding with the side of its face.

The force of the impact caused the skeletal digimon to stumble and almost lose its footing. After digging its claws into the ground, SkullBaluchimon gave its head a hard shake and turned to growl at Agunimon. Giving up on chasing Garurumon, SkullBaluchimon turned and headed toward Agunimon instead.

Agunimon smirked and charged head on toward the large ultimate. Before the enormous jaws could close in around him, Agunimon attacked back landing multiple fiery punches on the digimon's face. Agunimon laughed as the other digimon reared his head back, snarling in pain. But his amusement didn't last long when SkullBaluchimon's clawed paw slammed into him throwing him back.

The force of the blow caused him to roll across the ground before skidding to a stop. "I think I rather get punched by Matt again," Takuya grumbled. He rubbed his aching head as he sat up slowly. The first thing he saw when he regained his senses was SkullBaluchimon soaring through the air, directly at him!

He gasped and braced himself for impact. But it never came. Luckily for him Garurumon tackled the larger digimon knocking him away. The two tumbled over a few times before coming to a stop. Garurumon was lucky that he wasn't crushed by the much heavier ultimate. Not wanting to be this close, Garurumon scrambled away and made sure to put some distance between them.

"Thanks I owe you one," Agunimon said. The two of them stood standing side by side, preparing themselves to fight the very angry digimon. SkullBaluchimon stood, shaking the dirt and rocks from its body and roared angrily at them. "I'll try to hold him off, see if you can wake the others," Agunimon instructed.

Garurumon was a bit reluctant to leave the warrior fighting alone. But if they could wake the others, it would greatly increase their chances of winning. "Alright, be careful," Garurumon said, before turning and sprinted off toward MetalGreymon.

When he got there Matt was standing next to Tai with a still unconscious MetalGreymon lying next to them. "Not luck yet?" Garurumon asked.

"Nothing," Matt shook his head, "It's not like I can punch him like I did Takuya."

Garurumon tilted his head to the side thinking. Matt and Tai might not be able to wake him up, but he may be able to. He walked around to the other side of MetalGreymon where his bare arm was. Garurumon was a bit hesitant at first, but a cry from Takuya as he was tossed across the clearing again forced away his doubts. Without a moment to waste, Garurumon bit down on MetalGreymon's arm.

At the sudden sharp pain, MetalGreymon's eye shot open and he shot open. He sat up abruptly with a roar of pain. He glared at Garurumon who was still hanging limply from his arm. Garurumon immediately let go and dropped to the ground. Once he landed, he began to apologize profusely.

"Now we know how to wake them up," Tai chuckled.

"Sorry but I didn't really have a choice," Garurumon hung his head sadly.

"I guess it's alright," MetalGreymon complained, as he lifted his arm to inspect the teeth marks. In a way, MetalGreymon was glad that Garurumon managed to wake him from the nightmares that plagued him while he was under. "I'll wake up Flamedramon, you can go back to help Agunimon," MetalGreymon instructed. Garurumon nodded and ran back into the fray.

MetalGreymon looked at the still unconscious armor digimon and debated the best way to wake him up. Smirking slightly, he lifted his tail and thumped Flamedramon squashing the poor digimon. Tai and Davis winced slightly as they watched.

Takuya wasn't as quick as Garurumon and was struggling to keep away from SkullBaluchimon. It seemed that the other digimon wanted nothing more than to squash him flat. He was sure he saw his life flash before his eyes on more than a few occasions, where his opponent's 'Grave Bone' attack missed only by a slim margin. Not one to back down, Agunimon attacked back with blasts of fire. His attacks scorched the bones that made up SkullBaluchimon's body, but it only seemed to anger it more.

"How you doing?" Garurumon asked, coming to stand next to Agunimon.

"Don't ask," Agunimon growled out between clenched teeth. While they were talking, SkullBaluchimon began to charge at them. Agunimon and Garurumon simultaneously attacked the other digimon. SkullBaluchimon charged forward, only to get a face full of fire. It coughed and sputtered trying to rid its face of the burning sensation.

Seeing an opportunity, Agunimon quickly followed up with a 'Pyro Tornado'. He smirked when his kick connected with the side of SkullBaluchimon's body. But his victory was short lived when he was swatted to the ground, SkullBaluchimon's 'Grave Bone' finally connecting. Now that he was pinned SkullBaluchimon began to put more weight effectively crushing Agunimon into the ground.

Agunimon shut his eyes tightly from the pain, and could only manage shallow gasps. The earth around him began to crack as he sank deeper into the ground. He couldn't even scream in pain, the larger digimon's paw keeping his chest from expanding. If could very well die from suffocation if he wasn't completely crushed first.

Garurumon's eye widened in horror, as Agunimon was trampled. MetalGreymon and the now awake, and slightly bruised, Flamedramon ran up to him and gasped at the sight. Trying to free their friend, all three of them sent their best attacks at SkullBaluchimon, who was solely focused on crushing Agunimon to dust.

As the attacks met their mark, SkullBaluchimon grit its teeth and flinched in pain but refused to give up its prey. After the attacks stopped, the skeletal digimon lifted its head to glare at the other three digimon. With a roar it unleashed another 'Deadly Fear' attack. Not wanting to get hit a second time, everyone quickly darted out of the way.

Takuya gasped for air and tried to wiggle out from under the foot of SkullBaluchimon, but it was no use. SkullBaluchimon was way to heavy and too strong, and Agunimon was quickly loosing strength. In a last ditch effort he shut his eyes and reached into his very soul, begging for more strength. His prayers were answered by a warm tingling sensation taking over his body. He felt like his body was heating up until he suddenly burst into flames.

The flames began to lick at SkullBaluchimon's leg. Finally, the heat became too intolerable forcing it to release its captive and back away from the fire. The fire continued to grow until it was almost the size of MetalGreymon. Everyone, including the humans backed away, not knowing what to expect. Then enormous orange feathered wings burst from the flames.

With a single flap it extinguished the flames, revealing a large armored dragon looking digimon. BuringGreymon let out an ear-splitting roar as he emerged from the dying embers. Everyone slowly backed away from the newly evolved digimon.

SkullBaluchimon was the first to move, charging head on at BurningGreymon. The others shouted words of warning, but BurningGreymon ignored them and glared at the charging digimon. With only moments left, he raised both arms and readied the guns strapped to his arms. SkullBaluchimon was stopped dead, the searing pain caused by BurningGreymon's 'Pyro Barrage' forced it to stop its attack and back off. The skeletal digimon glared at them from a distance, its face and chest covered in burns.

"Nice job," MetalGreymon complimented as he landed next to BurningGreymon. He wasn't expecting a tail to slam into his gut knocking him backwards. BurningGreymon turned to snarl at the astonished MetalGreymon.

"What's he doing?!" Davis shouted. Everyone in the clearing was shocked, including SkullBaluchimon. Just what was Takuya thinking?!

MetalGreymon sat up and held his arm across his aching stomach. "What was that for?" He glared at BurningGreymon.

In response, BurningGreymon growled at him and raised an arm. The gun pivoted to point directly at MetalGreymon's face. The ultimate gasped; there was no way he was actually going to do it. But they didn't have the chance to find out. Flamedramon slammed his body, which was engulfed in fire, into BurningGreymon's side, causing the two of them to topple over.

But the attack didn't seem to bother the beast of fire at all. The fire that surrounded Flamedramon didn't even tickle. With a simple swipe of his claw, he easily swatted the armor digimon away.

"This is what happened last time," Matt said darkly. The others looked at him with a slightly confused look. "Takuya can't control his beast spirit, just like Kouichi couldn't that one time."

"But Davis and I are here!" Tai exclaimed, "This is not supposed to happen!"

BurningGreymon rose to his feet and let out another roar, making the three humans clamp their hands over their ears. The beast then faced Garurumon, who unfortunately was standing the closest to him. His body erupted into flames and with a sharp twist of his body, sent the flames barreling toward Garurumon.

Not wanting to get caught in the flames, Garurumon immediately turned tail and ran, making sure to put a lot of space between him and BurningGreymon. But the attack didn't stop there, BurningGreymon rose to the sky with a single flap of his wings.

From there, he surveyed the area. No one in the clearing was safe. Because SkullBaluchimon was the most separated, BurningGreymon decided to pick him off first. He dove toward the ultimate, surrounding his body with flames on the way down.

SkullBaluchimon glared at the incoming fireball. It dodged at the last second, causing BurningGreymon to shoot past him igniting some of the grass along the way. Not at all deterred by his missed attack, BurningGreymon turned sharply and continued his charge. Expecting something like that, SkullBaluchimon made sure to position itself just right. This time when it dodged, an unsuspecting Garurumon was standing in BurningGreymon's path.

The impact caused Garurumon to get thrown backwards. He lay in a crumpled heap on the ground, his breathing coming in heavy gasps and his fur slightly burnt. Without hesitation, Matt ran over to his partner. The sudden movement caught BurningGreymon's attention, who then focused his blood red gaze on Matt.

Seeing that their friend was in imminent danger, Tai and Davis began shouting and waving their arms trying to draw BurningGreymon's attention from Matt, who seemed oblivious to the danger. When Matt had finally reached Garurumon, he knelt down and gently brushed his partner's singed fur. Garurumon was unconscious and didn't respond to his partner's gentle voice as he tried to speak quietly to him.

A deep growl caught Matt's attention making him freeze. Looking over his shoulder he saw BurningGreymon taking slow predatory steps toward him. Matt turned around and pressed his back against his unconscious partner. Looking past the approaching digimon he saw MetalGreymon and Flamedramon running in his direction.

But his rescue was interrupted when SkullBaluchimon ran between them separating the two digimon from BurningGreymon. The skeletal digimon grinned at them; this was turning out to be very interesting. Why focus all its energy on wiping them out when their own ally would do it instead. SkullBaluchimon jumped at Flamedramon and sent out its dark aura toward MetalGreymon, forcing them to put more distance between them.

Matt felt the blood drain from his face as he watched SkullBaluchimon chase the other two away. Now it was just him and BurningGreymon. The beast was nearly on top of him now, only standing a few feet away. BurningGreymon bared his fangs, small wisps of fire leaking from between his teeth. But before Matt was burnt to a crisp a large rock sailed through the air and hit BurningGreymon in the back of the head.

The metal helmet protected the digimon from such a pathetic attack, but it was effective in diverting his attention. Turning away from Matt, BurningGreymon faced Davis and Tai who continued to chuck rocks and sticks at him. With an angry roar, BurningGreymon flew toward them with amazing speed. He landed directly in front of them, sending small tremors through the ground with his abrupt landing. Without any warning, BurningGreymon opened his mouth wide, releasing a large flamethrower, bathing them and the surrounding the area in fire. The fire grew to surround both boys and the large big digimon.

Matt, MetalGreymon, and Flamdramon froze; as they watched the flames grow and obscure the three of them. SkullBaluchimon threw his head back and laughed at their inevitable fate.

* * *

Davis and Tai threw up their arms as the flames came toward them. All they could hear was the crackling of the fire and the roar of BurningGreymon. They both waited for the flames to come and devour their bodies, but nothing came. They lowered their arms to find themselves in a totally different place. Instead of the clearing they were just in, they were in the middle of a burning forest.

"What happened?" Davis said as he looked around franticly. They were surrounded by burning trees and plants. But something was off. There was fire but no smoke and the fire continued to burn even if there was nothing left to fuel it.

"Not sure," Tai said, "But it's not safe here." They immediately tried to find their way out of the burning forest. It was difficult to maneuver themselves around the burning trees and shrubs. Luckily they managed to find a space between the flames to escape.

They ran along the path looking for the end of the inferno. "Look out!" Davis grabbed Tai's arm and yanked him back, causing the two of them to get knocked to the ground. Right where Tai was headed, a burning branch fell across the path. To their amazement, the fire grew and created a wall of fire that reached even higher than the trees.

"Thanks," Tai gasped, he had come that close to being crushed and then probably burnt to a crisp. "We better get out of here fast." Tai stood back up on shaky legs and reached a hand out to help Davis to his feet.

Once on their feet, a loud cracking noise made them jump. On their left, a huge tree crumpled to its side exposing another path. "Something really freaky is going on here," Davis said, as he watched the flames in that direction as they begun to die. A new path was created giving them a safe place to walk.

"Something wants us to go this way," Tai said taking a few brave steps forward with Davis walking tentatively behind him.

"It could very well be a trap," Davis murmured. He quickly looked into the flames on either side of them, expecting something or someone to jump out at them.

"We don't really have a choice," Tai said, "This is the only way we can go without burning to death."

They continued to travel through the forest. The fire still burned brightly all around them, but for some reason it wasn't hot. They were stuck in the middle of a forest fire and it was relatively warm, where it should have been sweltering. This defiantly wasn't an ordinary fire.

Davis was really tempted to touch the flames that lined their path. But decided against it after realizing they really didn't know how much longer they would be walking around. And adding third degree burns to their little adventure didn't sound very nice.

"Is it getting hotter to you?" Tai asked. Davis tore his eyes way from the fire and looked ahead.

"Now that you mention it, it has been getting hotter since we've been going in this direction." Davis just wanted to leave this forest with its weird logic defying fire. Soon enough the two boys were wiping sweat from their faces.

After a few more minutes of travel, they came to a small chest high wall of fire. This time they could feel the heat coming off of these flames, like a real fire.

"It's that Takuya?!" Davis pointed past the flames. Sure enough the warrior of fire sat in the middle of what appeared to be a huge circle of fire. He sat in the center with his knees pulled up to his chest and his back pressed to a scorched black stump. He had his head down, resting his forehead on his arms that were crossed over his legs.

Both Davis and Tai shouted trying to get the other boys attention, but he didn't seem to hear them. Suddenly a huge shape landed in the circle, causing the ground to quake. The figure was made of molten lava, and took the outline of BurningGreymon.

'_Look at you,'_ a voice sneered, _'you think after all this time you would have grown up some. You are still the reckless weakling that no __one__ can depend on.'_

The figure began to circle Takuya, continuing to taunt and put down the boy.

'_Your friends don't need you just like before. If Kouji wasn't there, you would have led all of your friends to their deaths.'_It paused to laugh darkly at him. _'And now, you are just as bad. You try to help your friends, but you blindly put yourself and others in danger constantly.'_

'_You are __of__ no use to anyone.'_

'_Usless!'_

"Who the hell do you think you are? Thinking you can say stuff like that about him!" Tai shouted. Immediately the dragon turned to face him. It took a few steps closer to the wall of fire that separated them. Tai stood his ground bravely, while Davis took a careful step back.

'_I've known him much longer than you have. Yet you think you know more about this kid's failures that I do?'_

"Everyone makes mistakes, it's just a part of life. Sometimes things don't turn out for the best, no one is perfect," Davis argued. The dragon snarled at him making him jump, but Tai remained rooted to the spot. How was Tai so brave? He didn't even flinch. Not wanting to look weak, Davis staid where he was, trying to support both his friends.

'_Some people are insignificant. No one would even notice they were gone,'_the dragon argued. '_This boy is a special case, it would be better if he never existed!'_ The dragon turned back towards Takuya and shot a stream of fire towards him. The fire landed directly in front of him, it began to slowly creep across the ground.

No matter how much Tai and Davis shouted, Takuya seemed to be unable to hear him. He was unaware of the blaze inching closer and closer to him.

'_How ironic it is for the 'Warrior of Fire' to die from a simple flame.'_

Finally fed up, Tai rushed at the flames. Shocking both Davis and the dragon he leapt through the fire and landed in a rolling crouch. Ignoring the dragon, Tai ran straight towards Takuya and began pulling him away from the fire.

He could hear Takuya mumbling to himself. It was hard to make out the words but it sounded like he was repeating what the dragon had been telling them.

"It would be better if I never existed," Takuya mumbled over and over. He lay limp against Tai, his head hanging low.

"That's not true. What would your team do without you?" Tai said in a gentle voice. Davis and the dragon watched attentively as Tai talked with Takuya. But no matter what he said nothing seemed to be getting through to him.

"My friends don't need me, no one does." Takuya clenched both hands into tight fists. At the same time the fire around them grew bigger.

The dragon began to laugh, '_Give up! You are wasting your time on him. Even now all he does is cause trouble for others.'_

"Oh shut up!" Davis yelled. Taking a running start, Davis leaped though the flames trying to get to his friends. His landing wasn't as graceful as Tai's, and he ended up setting the sleeve of his shirt on fire. He let out a panicked yell and repeatedly hit his shoulder trying to extinguish the fire. Once the fire was out, he sighed deeply and began walking towards Tai and Takuya.

"You may have made a few mistakes, but so what. I've made a ton of them," Davis smiled. "But everyone can grow and change from their mistakes so they aren't entirely a bad thing."

"Davis is right," Tai said, "And you may not think you're important, but Davis and I, and all our other friends think you are. Don't let a couple of bad experiences get you down."

The fire around them began to die and pull back as Takuya put his head up. "You don't know what happened. Kouji and everyone else could have died because of my stupid ideas. I couldn't even hold off that big skeleton thing for you guys, I just got my ass handed to me."

"Hey that's better than what we could do if put in your situation," Davis argued, "You don't need to take things on all on your own, when you have all of your friends ready to back you up." Tai nodded in agreement. He was proud of Davis; he seemed to be finally growing up.

"Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Everyone is unique," Tai finished.

"Thanks guys. I needed that," Takuya finally smiled. Tai helped him to his feet and the three of them turned to face the dragon.

The fire around the area was almost completely out, leaving only small patches still burning. Tai and Davis were expecting the thing to start spewing more insults, but it just stood there. After a moment of thinking, it slowly nodded his head.

It chuckled lowly. Taking in a deep breath, it reared its head back and released a huge torrent of fire. Tai and Davis yelled as the fire spread out around them. To their amazement Takuya started to laugh. "Thanks again!" He gave them a thumbs up as he was swallowed by the fire.

The fire surrounding Takuya rose up and created a tornado. The two boys were completely surrounded by fire on all sides, and stuck next to a swirling vortex of flame. Before they were burnt to a crisp, a familiar roar filled their ears. BurningGreymon burst from the center of the tornado.

Tai and Davis immediately tried to put as much space between them and BurningGreymon as they could. But the beast of fire didn't try to attack them like he did earlier, he didn't even approach them. He seemed different somehow. His eyes; they were no longer a deadly red, but a deep blue.

* * *

BurningGreymon smirked at them. With a flap of his wings all the fire around them was extinguished. They were no longer in the burning forest, but back in the clearing where their battle was currently taking place.

While the three of them were occupied, the battle with SkullBaluchimon was still in progress. MetalGreymon and Flamedramon were trying their hardest. Both of them were panting heavily, and the skeletal digimon was covered in burns and scorch marks.

Flamedramon charged in, his body surrounded by flames. Before his attack could connect, he was swatted away by the larger digimon's boney paw. But SkullBaluchimon was not expecting two of MetalGreymon's missiles to hit him straight in the face.

The attack caused a cloud of smoke that concealed their enemy. Before the smoke could clear, SkullBaluchimon jumped out of the cloud and pounced on MetalGreymon. SkullBaluchimon snarled and attempted to tear out MetalGreymon's throat. But MetalGreymon was ready. He blocked the attack with his metal coated arm. SkullBaluchimon's fangs clamped shut around the metal appendage.

By now Flamedramon was back on his feet and firing blast of fire at the back of the digimon that had his friend pinned to the ground. SkullBaluchimon tried his best to ignore the attack and bit down harder, making MetalGreymon flinch.

Tired of watching, BurningGreymon lifted into the skies and stopped directly above SkullBaluchimon. His 'Pyro Barrage' combined with Flamedramon's 'Fire Rocket' dealt some serious damage to SkullBaluchimon. The evil digimon released MetalGreymon's arm and howled in pain. Flamedramon took his chance and tackled the ultimate off of his comrade.

The two of them tumbled over the ground. Once they stopped, SkullBaluchimon tried to crush Flamedramon with his paws. It would have succeeded, if BurningGreymon hadn't managed to scoop Flamdramon up and into the sky.

Now that SkullBaluchimon was preoccupied, Matt left his partner and ran over to the two other boys. Tai and Davis were still frozen in place as they tried to take in everything that had just happened.

"What happened? Are you guys alright?" Matt asked. Tai and Davis shared a look of confusion before answering.

"Yeah were fine," Tai said slowly. "I'm not too sure what happened though."

"You were surrounded by fire and cornered by BurningGreymon and you don't know what happed?!" Matt was frantic, he was so worried about them and all they could do was stand around looking dazed. "How did you survive? I was so sure he was going to kill you."

"Would you believe us that we were teleported into Takuya's brain and saved him from some flaming dragon thingy?" Davis said cheekily.

Matt raised an eyebrow as he stared at Davis. "I guess weirder things happened to us before."

"Whatever we managed to do seemed to help Takuya," Tai said. He turned away from them and looked up to where BurningGreymon was struggling to hold onto a flailing Flamedramon. "We don't need to worry about him anymore."

Davis nodded enthusiastically and followed Tai's example, and turned to watch the fight. Now that he was sure they were fine, Matt ran back to Garurumon, who was still unconscious.

"Lemme go!" Flamedramon began to thrash as he and BurningGreymon rose farther into the sky.

"Hey cut that out! Unless you want me to drop you."

Flamedramon recognized the familiar voice and immediately stopped struggling. "Takuya?"

"Were you expecting someone else?" BurningGreymon teased. He smirked at him, revealing a row of rather scary looking fangs.

"But earlier you-"

"Oh that," Takuya interrupted, "Well, let's say I was having some personal issues, but I'm all good now. Let's cut the chatter and end this already." Flamedramon smiled back at him and nodded. Together they descended upon the rather tired SkullBaluchimon.

BurningGreymon dropped Flamedramon off next to MetalGreymon, who had just managed to climb to his feet, with all three of them in position, the begun their attack. Surrounded on all sides, SkullBaluchimon could only watch as the attacks reared him. In a last ditch effort to win, he released all the dark energy in his body in one last 'Deadly Fear' attack. The collision of attacks caused a large explosion, accompanied by a cloud of smoke that blanketed the area.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope everyone enjoyed this last chapter. This one took a different turn from the last few beast spirits, they can't have it easy all the time :P**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

The clearing shook violently from the explosion. Tai and Davis were thrown to the ground, and Matt clung onto Garurumon for dear life. After the initial explosion, the air began to settle as the smoke obscured their vision. They choked on the thick smoke, as it surrounded them. They were unable to see their partners or SkullBaluchimon, the lack of vision made them nervous.

SkullBaluchimon burst from the cloud snarling angrily. Its glowing red eyes were filled with unimaginable fury. Its body was covered in burns and cuts; they had the larger digimon on the ropes. SkullBaluchimon was panting heavily; saliva dripping from his open maw.

The other three digimon were in slightly better shape. MetalGreymon's armor was scorched black, but he was mostly unharmed. Flamedramon and BurningGreymon stood close together, a bit farther away. The two of them had a scratch or two, but other than that they were ready to go.

Trying to end the battle quickly, SkullBaluchimon released more dark energy from his body. The masses of energy flew toward Flamedramon and BuringGreymon. BurningGreymon easily dodged by rising into the sky with a flap of his wings. Flamedramon was having a bit more difficulty as he raced across the ground, the attack barely missing him.

He was so focused on dodging the attack that he didn't notice that SkullBaluchimon was practically right on top of him. With a shout of warning from MetalGreymon, Flamedramon finally realized how much danger he was in. His eyes widened as the large digimon's claw descended upon him.

But before SkullBaluchimon could flatten the armor digimon, BurningGreymon managed to get between them. He caught SkullBaluchimon's paw, grasping a claw in each hand. The force of the attack nearly knocked him over, but he managed to remain on his feet. He groaned as more force was being applied.

SkullBaluchimon was so close. Just one, it was determined to destroy at least one of them. It continued to add more weight, determined to crush him. But before the weight became too much for BurningGreymon to handle, MetalGreymon head-butted Skullbaluchimon, knocking it off of him. Immediately after SkullBaluchimon regained his footing, Flamedramon's 'Fire Rocket' connected with the side of its head. The fireballs caused the larger digimon to rear back on his hind legs, thrashing his head in pain.

That was their chance. All three of them blasted SkullBaluchimon with their best attacks. Their combined powers caused SkullBaluchimon's body to ignite. It began to screech loudly as its body was consumed in fire. With one final roar, SkullBaluchimon's body imploded. Smoke once again filled the air, blocking out everything.

After a few terrifying moments the smoke finally began to clear. SkullBaluchimon was nowhere to be seen, and Flamedramon, MetalGreymon, and BurningGreymon were lying motionless on the ground. Tai and Davis immediately jumped to their feet and ran toward their partners.

At the sound of footsteps, MetalGreymon and Flamedramon slowly opened their eyes.

"Did we get 'em?" Flamedramon asked, as he slowly pushed himself to his knees.

"Looks like you did," Davis smiled, "Good job buddy." Tai was also praising MetalGreymon about his performance. Looking up into the sky, they could see small particles of data slowly fading. The last remnants of SkullBaluchimon disappearing.

A few feet away, BurningGreymon was steadily getting to his feet. All eyes turned to him nervously. Only Tai and Davis seemed to feel perfectly secure about him. BurningGreymon turned to face them, making the digimon and Matt tense slightly.

"Did you see that?! That was totally awesome, with all the explosions, and the fire-" Takuya continued to rant, while waving his arms around franticly clearly amused by what just happened. Well, it was a bit obvious who was in control now.

Davis burst out laughing and Tai had a huge grin on his face, typical Takuya. "Hope I didn't give you guys too much of a scare," Takuya said, finally calming down a little.

"Just a bit," Matt chuckled slightly. Now that it seemed like the danger was over, Matt turned his attention back to his partner. Garurumon's breathing had evened out to deep calm breaths. It took a few nudges from Matt for Garurumon to wake up.

He blinked his eyes sleepily, and slowly raised his head. "What happened?" he asked.

"Don't worry the fights already over," Matt spoke quietly to his partner and gently stroked the side of his head. Now that Garurumon was awake, the two of them re-joined the rest of them.

Now that everyone was ready, they got up and started to head back to the others. But before they could even reach the tree line, another group entered the clearing.

"Aww, is it over already?" TK asked. He was riding on the back of MagnaAngemon, Ken and Kari where there too, riding on their own partners. Kouichi, still in the form of JägerLoweemon, followed them on the ground with his brother on his back.

"We're good here," Tai answered, "Everything come out okay on your end?"

"We ran into a bit of trouble, but nothing we couldn't handle," Kari said. They gave Matt, Tai, and Davis a quick rundown of how their escape plan worked.

Meanwhile, BurningGreymon went over to JägerLoweemon and Kouji. "No problems this time around?" Takuya asked Kouichi, referring to his control over the beast spirit of darkness.

"We were right about having to have the others here to help us," Kouichi answered. He tilted his head in the direction that the other group was talking. "This time when I tried it, there was no struggle for control at all."

"I think that it's a bit more complicated than that. When I first tried it, I had lost control for a bit even when Tai and Davis were standing right there," Takuya admitted.

"That explains all the burnt grass and trees," Kouji said, looking around at the damaged landscape. "But if you lost it, then how did you get it under control? You seem fine now?"

Takuya crossed his arms, thinking for a moment. He wasn't even sure how it happened; it was a very strange experience.

"Did they somehow get into your head too?" Kouichi's question drew both boys attention to him, as they started at him with slightly confused expressions. Not liking being the center of attention, he lowered his head a little and continued talking in a quieter tone. "When I tried it, there was a lot of inner turmoil going on in my head. Then all of a sudden, TK and Ken where there and they helped me settle it."

"That's what happened with me too!" Takuya exclaimed, "And here I thought I was going crazy."

"You are crazy, but that's beside the point," Kouji ignored Takuya's pout, which looked rather strange on BurningGreymon's face, and continued on, "When Tommy beast spirit evolved, Joe and Mimi were saying some pretty strange things. They claimed to be transported into some kind of blizzard and talked with this _creature_. But that's impossible, since Sora and I were right there and nothing had happened to them."

"Tommy managed to beast spirit evolve too?" Takuya asked. Kouji nodded, making the other boy cheer, and began rambling about how he was so proud of Tommy.

"It seems like our partners can somehow enter our subconscious," Kouichi said, "We need to talk to the others about this later." They would figure out the mystery behind their beast spirits later when they were all together again. But for now they re-joined Tai and the others and listened to the re-enactments of the battles they just fought.

"That SkullBaluchimon seemed pretty scary," Kari said after hearing about the battle with the skeletal digimon.

"But not as scary as Takuya when he was trying to light us all on fire," Davis teased.

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult," Takuya said frowning at Davis.

"How about both?" Flamedramon said happily. Davis immediately tried to shush him, whispering about how he doesn't want Takuya to be mad at him and turn him into a human fireball.

After letting the others laugh a bit, Tai brought up a more serious matter. "Where are the others?" he asked looking at Kouji, as he referred to the other members of their group that had been captured.

"They went to help everyone else with their battle," Kouji said, "We should probably head over there and make sure they're all right."

As if on cue, the rest of the team arrived at the clearing. Finally, the whole group was back together. When the two groups merged, uncontrollable talking broke out between them, finally some peace after all that craziness. Hugs were exchanged and laughter rang throughout the forest.

"Glad to see that everyone's alright," Tai said, as he looked over everyone in the group. He pointed at each of the new evolutions as he counted in his head and smiled at their progress, "four out of six beast spirits, not a bad start."

"We better get to somewhere safe, before the reinforcements show up," Matt reminded them that they weren't safe out in the open like they were. He received murmurs of agreement, with that they quickly left the park area.

All of them reverted to their previous forms as they hit the city. "Why are we going in this direction?" Joe asked, "Isn't the school the other way?" He pointed to the right of them as they passed the street that would have taken them directly to the school.

"A bunch of digimon showed up yesterday and attacked us there. We managed to get out safely, but we needed a new place to stay," Izzy explained.

"So Kouichi offered to let us stay at his dad's place," JP said. He couldn't hide a smile from forming on his face. Kouji's reaction was bound to bring some excitement. Any second now.

"You what!?"

Sure enough, Kouji turned to his brother with an astonished expression; he looked at his brother in disbelief, and a little bit of annoyance. Kouichi, on the other hand, just smiled sweetly at his twin.

"The majority of them live in small apartments so those places were out of the question and Dad's place isn't too far and had enough space for us," Kouichi said, "I'm sure dad won't mind it's only for a little while."

Kouji began rubbing his temples just imagining the way his father would react when he found out just what was going on in his house. His brother was just too kind. "You don't have to live with him once this is over," Kouji groaned, "He won't get mad at you since he enjoys when you visit; me on the other hand..." He trailed off with a deep sigh.

"Don't worry," JP said, slapping his hand on his friends back. The 'friendly' slap had a bit more strength behind it, causing Kouji to lurch forward and scowl at JP. "We made sure to keep the place neat, except for maybe your room. Apparently Takuya was trying to find some deep, dark secret that might be hiding in there."

Before Takuya could protest and call JP out on his lie, Kouji lunged at him. Thanking his quick reflexes, Takuya immediately turned tail and sprinted down the street with Kouji hot on his tail.

"I didn't do anything, I swear!"

"I'll kill you, Kanbara!"

Their yelling slowly faded as the two got steadily farther away.

"JP!" Zoe scolded. She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at the older boy.

"What?" JP shrugged his shoulders and tried to act innocent, but the huge grin on his face was a dead giveaway.

"Takuya didn't even go near Kouji's room last night. Kouichi was the only person to go in there." Zoe said. Tommy, finally catching on to what his friend did, began to laugh. Zoe glowered at him, but that didn't stop his laughter.

"He would have poked around in there if you didn't stop him. Just by looking at his face, you could see that he was itching to go looking around in there," JP laughed, "Besides did you see that; it was priceless." He pointed in the direction that the two boys disappeared in.

"Do you guys remember the direction the house is from here?" Kouichi turned around to ask the rest of the group who was watching everything that was taking place with amused expressions. When he received a few nods of confirmation he looked back at the remaining warriors. "We better make sure that they don't find more trouble," Kouichi said, but even he couldn't hide the small smile on his face.

"Or from killing each other," Tommy chuckled.

"That too," Kouichi laughed. "I'm sure Kouji has more restraint than that." JP snorted in a bad attempt to hide his laughter. With that, the four of them ran after their friends leaving the Chosen Children to find Kouichi and Kouji's house.

After a few more turns they arrived in front of the rather large house. Tai suddenly stopped in front of the door causing Agumon to walk right into the back of his legs, almost knocking the two of them over. "What is it?" Matt asked.

"By chance, did Kouichi give anyone the key?" Tai asked, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Groans spread throughout the group as they realized that they would be stuck outside until the warriors got back.

* * *

The Chosen Children waited around for about 10 minutes before the Warriors finally made it to the house. JP and Tommy were walking up to them with large grins on their faces, while Takuya and Kouji were glaring at JP's back. Kouichi and Zoe followed up behind the others making sure that the two boys didn't decide to take their anger out on JP.

"You guys don't need to be so mad, it was a joke," JP teased. That didn't stop the glares coming from Takuya and Kouji. The former was chased around a few blocks before he doubled back and nearly slammed into the others while they were looking for them. After calming down Kouji, they managed to explain that JP had made most of it up. The way back had consisted of Takuya and Kouji glowering and yelling at JP. JP wasn't at all bothered and just shrugged off their threats; the two of them were so easy to poke fun of if you knew what you were doing. Tommy had thought the whole thing to be hilarious, and he made sure to hide behind Zoe or Kouichi while he was laughing, just in case the two boys ever wanted to take their frustrations out on him for openly laughing at them.

Seeing that everyone was loitering outside his house, Kouchi realized his mistake. "Sorry about that. I hope you weren't waiting too long." He ran the rest of the way to the door, pulling the key to the front door out of his pocket on the way there.

After the door was opened, everyone filed into the house. Most of them collapsed on the nearest soft object they could find. The day wasn't even over yet, but they were exhausted. Kouichi made his way to the kitchen with Kouji close behind.

Kouji watched as his brother took out glasses and filled them with water. "Need some help?" Kouichi nodded and gestured to the already filled glasses. The two of them worked silently as they passes out the cups of water to everyone who was still awake.

Most of the digimon were asleep in various places on the floor, making it a bit difficult to maneuver around them. "I don't think offering up our house was the best idea," Kouji grumbled as he nearly tripped over a snoring Armadillomon.

"This was the best option," Kouichi argued. Kouji sighed, there was no use starting a fight over it since they were already here.

"Thank you very much for letting us stay here," Sora spoke up, as Kouichi passed her a water. She had been listening to their conversation since they entered the room. She knew Kouji wasn't trying to be rude or anything; he just didn't like having people invade his personal space. "Perhaps we should move back to the school soon."

"That might not be the best idea," Izzy interrupted, "they knew that we used to stay in that place already."

"Maybe that's a good thing," Tai said. More people began to gather round as the conversation progressed. "They won't expect us to go back there so soon, after they chased us out." That was an interesting theory, but was it worth taking that risk?

After thinking about it more, they decided to send a few people to check out the school to see if it was still being watched, and safe to go back tomorrow. They couldn't stay in the twin's house forever.

"Since were getting settled already, we should probably make something to eat," Davis said. His stomach grumbled in agreement. He blushed slightly at the obnoxious sounds his stomach was making.

"I can try to make something," Matt offered, "I could use some help though."

"I'll help!" Takuya jumped up happily. Those that had experienced Takuya's cooking before instantly paled.

"No way," Kouji stopped him, "I rather you not burn my house to the ground, and I don't think everyone will appreciate food poisoning."

"My cooking has gotten a lot better, I promise," Takuya pouted. No one really believed him though.

"Don't worry Matt, we can help you," Kari offered. She and Mimi stood up and followed Matt into the kitchen. They searched through the fridge and a few cabinets looking for what ingredients that had to work with. After planning a rough menu, they asked for some of the others to make a quick run to the grocery store for some odds and ends. Sora, Davis, Ken, and TK offered to go with Matt to make a run to the grocery store for more food.

"Geez, you guys have no faith in me do you," Takuya crossed his arms and sulked.

"I'm sure you're getting better Takuya, but now may not be the best time for you to practice," Zoe said sweetly. Takuya finally gave in and agreed to let the others handle the cooking.

"Besides, I think we have a few things to talk about," JP said. The whole thing about their temperamental beast spirits was something they had been meaning to talk about.

"Do you mind if we sit in?" Izzy asked. He was fascinated by their spirits and their workings. Everyone else was a bit curious as well.

"Sure but not everyone, it's kind of personal," Kouichi said. The Chosen were very understanding. They chose Tai and Izzy to go while the rest of them got some well-deserved R&R, lazing around the living room.

For a bit more privacy they headed to the twin's room, which they shared whenever Kouichi stayed over at their dad's house. Zoe and Kouichi sat on the edge of the bed and Tommy crawled to the middle of the bed and lay face down on top of it. Takuya, Tai, and Izzy sat on the ground, while Kouji sat at in a rolling computer chair and JP leaned leisurely against the wall.

"So, where to start?" Takuya mused.

"Well, it appears that our theory about the beast spirits were correct," Kouichi began, "I managed to control my beast spirit while Ken and TK were there."

"But it can't be just our presence," Tai interrupted, "When Takuya tried it, he lost control the first time even when Davis and I were there."

"You couldn't control your beast spirit?!" Tommy shot up from his lying position on the bed.

Takuya frowned and mumbled something under his breath. They had a difficult time hearing him, but his confirmation was clear.

"But he managed to control it after something strange happened," Tai said.

"What do you mean strange?" Zoe asked.

"At first he was out of control and he tried to attack Davis and I," Tai began. The others gasped at his clam but didn't want to interrupt. "Then all of a sudden he stopped, and we were taken to some burning forest. We wondered around for a while until we found Takuya. He seemed to be talking with this dragon thing that was putting him down."

"So that wasn't just me?" Tommy asked. "While I was trying to spirit evolve, I felt really depressed and like all my faults was getting shoved in my face. And then I could hear Joe and Mimi, they helped me feel better about myself, and then I beast spirit evolved."

"That must be it!" Izzy exclaimed. "The beast spirits must be testing your inner strength. If you guys can't overcome it then the spirits go out of control."

"And that's where you guys come in," Zoe smiled, "Sometimes it's hard to see the good things about yourself. But if someone else tells you, it's more believable."

"Did you guys have similar experiences?" Takuya asked. He received nods from Kouichi, Tommy, and JP. "Good, so it wasn't just me." They took turns reliving the scene that had played out in their minds. Some more personal parts were skipped over, the shared only what they believed was necessary. No one likes to admit their faults, even if it's to some of your closest friends.

"So we need to overcome out faults in order to control out beast spirits," JP said. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he thought. "Maybe this isn't so hard."

"Only two more to go," Tai said and smiled at Kouji and Zoe.

"Maybe we should get you two out of the way now," Izzy suggested.

"What do you mean?" Zoe asked.

"Rather than trying to control your beast spirits in the middle of a fight it might be better to try them out now," Izzy explained. It was a good idea; it would help prevent any control problems in the future.

"We should try to see if we still have control of our spirits first," JP said, "It would be a real pain if we needed to go through that every single time."

"Kouichi should try it first," Kouji suggested, "His beast spirit is the smallest, so we should be able to limit the damage if he can't control it a bit easier than having to deal with something big like Korikkakumon." Tommy stuck his tongue out at him.

They all agreed this would be a good idea and moved into the back yard. As they were passing through the house, they noticed that the rest of them had come back from the store and were busy fiddling around in the kitchen. Tai told them to go ahead without him when he stopped to collect TK and Ken.

After about a minute Tai, Ken, and TK went out back to see the Warriors and Izzy sitting in the shade of a large tree. Ken was carrying Wormmon and Patamon left his perch on TK's head to join Tentomon in the branches of the tree. Agumon was still snoozing away on one of the couch pillows.

As they got closer, Kouichi stood up and walked toward the middle of the yard.

"What do we do?" Ken asked.

"Hopefully you won't need to do anything," Izzy said. He had taken out his laptop and was typing away. He was getting set up to analyze Kouichi's power levels, as well as try to catch any problems that the naked eye would miss. "May I borrow your D3?" Ken nodded and passed over his digivice to Izzy. After pulling out some kind of cable, he attached one end to the D3 and the other to his laptop. Now that he was all set up he gave Kouichi the okay to begin.

Kouichi took a deep breath and closed his eyes. In an instant, dark energy began to swirl around him, in a matter of second his body was completely hidden from view. Both Ken and TK's D3s began to flash and emit high pitched beeping noises.

When the shadows fell away, the armored form of JägerLoweemon stood in Kouichi's place. Everyone waited with baited breaths as JägerLoweemon opened his eyes. He didn't say anything at first, making everyone a bit nervous. JägerLoweemon rolled his shoulders and crouched low and arched his back, similar to how a cat does. "Everything seems okay," Kouichi said after his body had gotten used to the transformation.

"No weird visions or anything?" Izzy asked Ken and TK. He was still busily typing on his laptop, not even looking up when he addressed the two boys.

"Nope," TK said, "There was this odd tingling sensation though." He rubbed his arms, trying to get the tingling to go away.

"Everything looks normal," Izzy murmured as he finished looking at the starts that filled his screen. "Good job you guys," he waved at Kouichi to cancel his evolution. In a flash of light,Kouichi was back to normal.

"That was pretty cool," Patamon laughed. "Did you feel that?" he asked Wormmon. The worm digimon nodded enthusiastically.

"What are you talking about?" TK asked.

"When your digivice was going off it felt all tingly," Patamon smiled.

"It must be because some of the power was slipping through the digivice," Ken guessed.

"Looks like there was no problem that time," Takuya said. He was looking over Izzy's shoulder checking out the data that Izzy collected. Takuya squinted at the screen trying to make sense of all the numbers and charts. With a huff, he gave up and leaned back against the tree.

Tai leaned over and whispered in Takuya ear, "Don't worry, no one else understands all that crap." His comment made Takuya snigger, making Izzy glare at them slightly.

Ignoring the two chucking guys behind him, Izzy began to explain some of the things he found out. "It looks like the digivices have to put out more power than when it works with the human spirits, because your bodies are put under more strain while trying to use the beast spirits."

"We'll that's a bit obvious," Kouji said.

"But," Izzy ignored Kouji and continued on, "For some reason the data has a difficulty merging with the human body. In a way your doubts, fears, and negative feelings make it harder for the evolution."

"You figured that all out from just scanning the D3?" JP asked, impressed.

Izzy smiled, "These things do a lot more than people think."

"And once we over come out faults, the data has an easier time merging," Kouichi revised. He received a nod and a smile from Izzy.

"This is great!" Zoe said as she clapped her hands excitedly, "I want to get this over with. I'm gonna get the girls." She stood up abruptly and started walking back toward the house.

"Hold on Zoe," Takuya said. She paused slightly and looked back over her shoulder. "It's not as easy as we made it seem. The spirits or whatever were really hard on us."

Zoe just smiled in response, "Don't worry, I'm tougher than you think." With that she disappeared back into the house in search of Sora and Yolei.

"Do you think it's alright that she's so confident?" Tai asked.

"Zoe was the only one of us, besides Kouichi, that could control her beast spirit. That's probably why she feels that way," Kouji said.

It only took a few moments for Zoe to gather the two girls. "Anything special we're supposed to do?" Sora asked.

"You need to help Zoe control her beast spirit. Uh, we're not too sure exactly what to do though," Tai said sheepishly. "It has something to do with ridding her of depressing thoughts or something." Yolei raised a skeptical eyebrow, obviously not believing him.

"Should we go somewhere else?" Tommy suggested. Zephyrmon was the smallest of all the beast spirits, but it wouldn't be good if she whipped up a tornado in the twin's backyard.

"If this goes well we shouldn't need to," Izzy said, "There is no imminent threat, so she can take her time."

"Are you ready?" Zoe asked Sora and Yolei. The two girls nodded, they looked a bit nervous while Zoe was excited.

Dropping her smile, Zoe donned a look of concentration. In seconds the wind around them picked up, causing dust and leaves to swirl around them. Sora and Yolei's digivices began making the same flashes and beeping noises at the same time that Zoe was surrounded by a bright pink energy.

The wind continued to swirl violently around them. Yolei gripped the sleeve of Sora's shirt in nervousness. The two of them could vaguely hear the boys trying to shout something over the harsh gusts. Turning around to face them, their eyes widened in shock. The boys were gone. When they turned back around, they were in some kind of desolate plane. The earth was dry and dusty, and nothing could be seen for miles. Unlike back in the yard, there was no wind; not even a small breeze. It was eerily quiet.

Yolei quickly whipped her head back and forth, looking around for anything that might tell them where they were. After not finding anything, she began to panic slightly, "No warning or anything, just spirit us away to some random place. Thanks Zoe!"

"Don't panic." Sora tried to calm her down while hiding her own worries. If they were supposed to help Zoe, then were was she? And if she was the warrior of wind, shouldn't there be at least a light breeze?

They weren't going to get anything done standing around, so they picked a random direction and started walking. The land was completely barren no matter how far they walked.

"Can you hear something?" Sora asked. Yolei stopped to listen.

"It sounds like the wind but I don't feel anything," Yolei answered. She stuck her hand out trying to feel even the smallest breeze. Giving up, they continued walking.

As they continued, the sound was getting louder. Suddenly, there was a loud cracking noise.

"Look out!" Sora reached out and grasped Yolei's hand as the ground opened up beneath them.

**A/N: Did anyone else fall asleep while reading too? This chapter isn't the most exciting and I actually started dozing off while editing :P. This is partially a filler chapter with some needed explanations being done. It also sets the stage for the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed reading :)**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Yolei screamed as the ground fell away beneath her feet. Her fall was brought to a jarring halt as Sora's hand tightly grasped onto hers. The older girl had managed to grab onto Yolei as well as a part of the newly formed cliff before the both of them fell to their deaths.

They hung above a bottomless ravine that was filled with violent swirling wind. The wind they could hear from earlier was hidden beneath the ground, trapped in some kind of current. It flowed viciously beneath them, ripping apart the rocks that fell into it.

The sound of the wind was all around them, making it difficult to make out any othersounds, let alone call for help.

"Don't panic," Sora shouted over the wind.

"A little too late for that," Yolei answered. Sora grunted as she tried to pull both herself and Yolei up to safety. Unfortunately,their combined weight was too much for her to lift. Sora was quickly tiring, her grip on the ledge loosening.

Both girls had tears rimming the edge of their eyes at the thought of approaching death.

"Sorry," Sora said, a single tear falling from her eye. The wind wiped away her tear along with her almost silent apology. Her grasp finally gave way leaving the two girls to fall into the ravine.

They both screamed as they plummeted down. When they finally hit the trapped wind everything got much worse. While they were falling, Sora and Yolei had held onto each other for dear life, but the ravaging winds easily tore them apart.

They were no longer falling as they wind knocked them back and forth. Yolei felt sick, this was much worse than any rollercoaster ride. Some of the miniscule bits of rock that still floated around were turned into razors as they blew past them. Now she wished that she had fallen to her death.

The two girls tried to scream but the air was ripped from their lungs. Yolei was about to just give up when a sudden jolt stopped her from flying through the air. She felt someone firmly grasping her hand tightly. Gasping for breath, Yolei turned her head and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she looked up to see Zoe holding onto her wrist. She had Kazemon's butterfly wings extending from her back, just like the first time Yolei had seen her fight. "Hold on tight," Zoe yelled over the wind. With a flap of her wings, they rose slightly through the air. The strong gusts caused Zoe to falter and tip sideways. After regaining her balance she reached out again and reached for Sora. After a few miss-grabs, she finally snatched the other girl´s hand.

With the newly added weight, Zoe struggled to keep the three of them aloft. Sweat began to bead on her forehead before it was quickly wiped away by the wind. Seeing a small opening in the cliff wall, she dove towards it. Another sudden shift in the wind caused her wing to clip the edge of the cave opening, making Zoe and her two passengers to crash to the floor.

"Owww," Sora groaned as she slowly sat up. She winced from the small cuts that littered her arms and legs. Checking on her friends, she saw that Yolei was covered in similar cuts and scrapes and Zoe was lying face down on the floor of the cave.

Sora's eyes widened as she saw the wings still slightly fluttering on her friend's back. "Zoe?" Sora stood up and took a few tentative steps toward her. Yolei managed to sit up and check on the condition of the other two girls.

Sora knelt down and gently touched Zoe's shoulder, making her moan slightly and lift her head. Sora helped her into a sitting position. While they were moving, Zoe's wings began to dissolve. "Are you guys okay?" Zoe asked.

"We are, thanks to you," Yolei said.

Zoe shook her head, "I didn't do much. And now we're stuck here." All three girls turned to the opening of the cavern to see the wind still blowing wildly.

"You did a lot, considering we would still be stuck in that if you hadn't saved us," Sora said.

"So what do we do know? How are we going to get out of here?" Yolei asked. There was no way Zoe could fly them both out of there, she had enough trouble flying on her own.

"This isn't what the others said would happen," Zoe groaned and massaged her temples.

"What were you expecting?" Sora asked. It would have been better if the others had explained thing a bit better. Their explanation was rather vague.

"According to them, you're supposed to help me get over some inner turmoil or whatever my problem is, "Zoe explained, "They said there was this voice or creature that would exploit their faults and make them feel inferior, but I haven't heard or felt anything yet."

"I guess we just have to wait until the wind dies down," Yolei sighed. She stood up and took a few steps closer to the edge, trying to look outside. Suddenly a strong gust blew into the cave knocking her back. Startled, Yolei scurried back to sit next to Zoe and Sora.

"I thought you're supposed to be all depressed and stuff?" Yolei asked once she calmed down a bit, "You look fine to me."

Zoe sighed loudly. "I thought this was going to be easy since I already know what my problem is." Sora and Yolei looked on curiously waiting for her to continue. She took a deep breath and continued a bit nervously. "Ever since I moved back from Italy when I was a kid, I had trouble making friends. When we first came to the Digital World, I promised myself that I would be a better person and be kind to everyone. But, it hasn't been working out so well."

"What are you talking about," Sora interrupted, "Whenever I see you you're always hanging out and talking with people."

"Well, that's sort of true. But just because I'm talking to them doesn't mean that they're my friends. I'm just trying to be really friendly so that people like me," Zoe admitted, "Those people you see me talking to are just classmates. Myonly real friends are the guys. I've tried to make friends with other people, but I always end up chickening out at the end when they try to do stuff with me out of school."

"Hang on," Yolei stood up abruptly, with her hands on her hips, "You agreed to go shopping with us the other day." That was true. Before all this started Zoe had agreed to go on a shopping with the other girls.

Zoe chuckled a little. "I was actually really scared. That was the first time that I had actually hung out with other people without any of the boys being around."

"What made us so different?" Sora asked.

"I just had a feeling," Zoe shrugged, "And I'm glad I went through with it. I'm always thinking that I'm going to say or do something that other people don't agree with and they would just leave. That's why I've always stuck with theguys, because they know the real me, and we're always going to be close no matter what."

"I don't see what you're so afraid of," Yolei said stubbornly, "I may have not known you as long as Sora has, but from what I can tell, you're one of the nicest people I know. If people don't want to be your friend then that's their loss." She finished by crossing her arms and letting out a huff.

Zoe looked on rather shocked and Sora giggled at her expression. "She's right you know," Sora said resting her hand on Zoe's shoulder, "As long as you just be yourself you should have no problem making friends. It's easier to get to know people by just acting normally rather than forcing yourself to be overly friendly."

Zoe had been telling herself this for years, but hearing it from another person made her feel a bit better.

"Thanks," Zoe smiled, "I'll try harder from now on."

"You shouldn't be trying so hard," Yolei scolded, startling Zoe. "I bet people are just as nervous talking to you. Being afraid of meeting new people is a common problem. Just relax and be yourself, you shouldn't be forcing yourself to interact with others."

Zoe took her words to heart; maybe she had been going around this the wrong way.

Seconds later the wind began to die. All three girls turned toward the entrance of the tunnel to see the gusts of wind slowing down to peaceful breezes.

Smiles broke out on their faces as they raced toward the ledge. Sure enough, the violent gusts of wind from earlier were gone. "That wasn't too bad," Sora admitted, "I was expecting things to get much worse."

Summoning her wings again, Zoe grabbed both girl's hands and took off into the sky. Once they reached the top of the ravine they were taken by surprise. They were no longer in the dead plane from earlier, now the earth was covered in a lush green grass. Brightly colored flowers poked above the blades of grass. In the distance they could see an enormous tree. Its branches reached so high it seemed to touch the clouds.

"Whoa," Sora gasped, "What happened here?"

"It's beautiful," Yolei smiled. Instead of dropping them off right away, Zoe continued flying in the direction of the giant tree.

She zoomed up to one of the tallest branches and gently dropped off her passengers. Once Sora and Yolei were settled, Zoe landed next to them with a huff. She was slightly out of breath from carrying the two of them.

Sora took a few steps forward, her eyes sparkling in excitement as she took in the scenery. Yolei was a bit more uncomfortable so up high, and decided to stay seated next to Zoe.

Sora continued to walk along the branch, turning her head left and right trying to absorb as much as she could. She observed everything, except for the very branch she was standing on. Sora miss judged the edge of the branch and stepped too close to the edge. In seconds, her foot slipped and she fell screaming.

Zoe and Yolei shouted in worry and jumped to their feet. They were too far away to help, and Sora had fallen way to fast. Before Zoe could re-summon her wings to dive after their friend, a flurry of brown feathers brushed past them.

A giant brown hawk swooped down and continued to weave between the branches. When it began rising again, they could see Sora sitting on the back of the bird, gripping its feathers tightly between her fingers.

Sora was panting, her heart pounding from her sudden fall. When the hawk landed on the branch the other girls were on, Sora stayed put, her face buried in the soft feathers.

"Are you okay?" Zoe asked, as she and Yolei ran up to the two of them. The hawk shifted slightly, prompting Sora to lift her head and acknowledge the other two girls.

"I think so," Sora answered. Yolei lifted her hand to help Sora off the animals back. She was a bit shaky climbing of the giant bird. Once both her feet were placed firmly on the branch, she gripped Yolei's sleeves tightly. She was still a bit shook up from her fall. Now that her friends were safe, Zoe walked cautiously up to the hawk.

Its beady eyes focused on her as she approached. When she was within arm's reach of the bird, it lowered its head in a slight bow. Zoe couldn't hold back the laugh and smile that suddenly appeared on her face. She reached up and gently began to stroke the hawk's beak. It let out a soft cooing noise, and dropped its head lower. The adjustment led Zoe to pet the soft feathers on the creature's head.

Sora and Yolei slowly approached them. "Thank you for saving me," Sora said. The hawk blinked at her in acknowledgement.

"Come pet her," Zoe said, slightly stepping to the side. Sora and Yolei were a bit nervous, but she did save Sora and Zoe seemed really calm next to her.

The two girls tentatively ran their fingers over the hawk's feathers. After a few strokes, they began to smile. While they were petting the hawk, Zoe stood back and watched them with a smile.

"I didn't think I would have needed much help with my problem, but I'm really glad you guys were here," Zoe admitted, "I will take what you told me to heart and see where that takes me."

Before Sora and Yolei could turn around and answer her, the hawk suddenly spread her wings and let out a loud screech. The wind suddenly picked up again and began to swirl violently around them blocking out everything else. Sora and Yolei held on to each other tightly and shut their eyes against the wind, afraid that they would get ripped apart and blown around again.

But this time the wind was accompanied by a tinkling laughter. "Thanks so much!"

* * *

The wind finally began to die down allowing them to open their eyes. Most of the wind had condensed in front of them, forming a floating cocoon shape. After a few moments, the wind stopped to a slow breeze and the cocoon burst open.

Zephyrmon floated a few inches above the ground, her brown feathered wings out stretched behind her.

Cheers mixed in with voices of astonishment caused the two girls to jump in surprise and whirl around. It took them a few seconds to realize that they were back in the twin's backyard. The rest of the occupants in the yard were cheering for Zoe's success. A few of the others poked their heads out of the door to check out the commotion coming from outside.

"How you doing Zoe?" Takuya asked.

"Never better," Zephyrmon's voice answered, it was a more mature version of Zoe's normal voice. It was a nice change from the boys who sounded like they were growling whenever they tried to talk.

"She doesn't look very beasty," Davis said from the door.

"Don't underestimate her," Tommy said, "Just because she doesn't look scary doesn't mean she is weaker than the rest of us." The other warriors nodded.

After taking a few laps round the yard to stretch her wings, Zoe reverted back to her human form. As soon as her feet touched the ground she ran up to Sora and Yolei and threw her arms around both of them.

Sora smiled and Yolei laughed as both of the girls returned her hug.

"Everything went well I'm assuming," Izzy asked.

"It was great!" Zoe perked up, "It was a bit harder that I first thought it was going to be, but everything turned out quite smoothly thanks to these two." She gave the girls another squeeze.

"Hey guys, foods ready," Mimi yelled from within the house. Takuya, JP, and Tommy immediately dashed into the house. Tai chuckled at their antics and stood up to follow them at a much slower pace.

"You want to give yours a try after dinner?" Izzy asked Kouji. Kouji paused mid-step to look back at Izzy who was shutting down his laptop.

"I think we've had enough excitement for one day," he said and continued his way back to the house, Kouichi falling in step beside him.

* * *

While everyone was enjoying the dinner that was prepared and getting ready for bed, the enemy was just awakening. DemiDevimon was accompanied by a Pumpkinmon and two Bakemon as they stood outside Myotismon's coffin, waiting for their master to awaken.

The four of them were arguing amongst themselves in hushed voices.

"I don't want to tell him, you do it."

"I wasn't the one on guard duty while they escaped so why should I tell him?"

All of them feared what Myotismon's reaction would be once they told him that the humans had escaped. The scraping of the coffin opening put a stop to their argument. Myotismon slowly sat up and turned toward the four cowering digimon.

"What is it?!" he snapped, obviously not in a good mood.

The other three digimon pushed DemiDevimon to the front and cowered behind him. The bat digimon stumbled a little; he swallowed nervously and tried to hide his fear.

"Um well," he started off lamely, "There's some bad news." Myotismon climbed out of his coffin, glaring at them, waiting for them to continue. "You see, the prisoners sort of escaped." DemiDevimon flinched as the last word left his mouth.

"They what?!" Myotismon roared. "It's only been a day and they already escaped. What happened to all the guards?!"

"They were destroyed when the others came to rescue them," one of the Bakemon said. "There are only a few of us left."

"Useless, all of you!" Myotismon whirled around his cape flying through the air. He glared at the wall as he planned his next move. "Where are they now?"

"We have an idea where they are hiding but haven't confirmed it yet," Pumpkinmon murmured.

"Then what are you all standing here for? Go find them now!" Myotismon ordered. Immediately all four digimon scampered out of the room. Myotismon let out a long sigh; competent minions are so hard to come by.

One of his bats fluttered down from its perch on the ceiling to land on his finger. Myotismon gently stroked the bat on its head making it chirp quietly. "I've let them live far too long. It's about time I crushed them."

* * *

DemiDevimon and the other digimon searched frantically for where the children were staying. They gathered what was left of the guards that survived the fight and began their search. They spread out over the city, beginning from where the captives were being held.

It took them about four hours for them to finally find the house.

Pumpkinmon peaked through the window and saw the humans sleeping peacefully with their digimon partners. He gave a thumbs-up to DemiDevimon who smirked widely at their find. He immediately conveyed a message to their master that they had found the humans. DemiDevimon watched as the bat that carried his messages got farther and farther away.

* * *

It was about four in the morning and everyone in the house was still fast asleep. Gatomon snoozed happily next to her partner on one of the couches. Her ear twitched once, twice, and then her eyes shot open. She sat up and listened intently, her ears still twitching. It was faint but she could hear something.

She jumped along the back of the couch and landed next to a sleeping Patamon. She prodded him a few times with her claw until he woke up.

"Do you hear that?" she whispered. She didn't want to wake the others if it was nothing. Patamon was still half asleep and swayed side to side his eyes only half open.

"Hear what?" he mumbled. Another rumble sounded, much closer this time. Patamon was instantly wide awake. "It sounds like footsteps."

"Something's coming!" Gatomon realized. Gatomon and Patamon raced around the room, pouncing and prodding everyone awake.

"What's going on?" TK said groggily and tried to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes.

"Something is coming! And it's really big!" Patamon informed them. The other digimon listened intently and picked up the approaching footsteps.

"Let's go greet out guests," Davis said and punched the palm of his hand, "They ruined my beauty sleep!"

"I'll go wake Kouji and Kouichi," Zoe said before sprinting to upstairs to the twin's room. The others raced outside to face the coming threat.

The footsteps sounded much closer now. They ran towards the noise and came face to face with two large Triceramon.

"Only two? This should be easy," Takuya boasted. Malicious laughter brought them to a halt. Myotismon rose into the early morning sky from behind the two ultimate digimon.

"It's about time you showed up," Tai glared at him.

"Is this Myotismon?" Kouichi asked. Kouichi and Kouji had woken up as soon as Zoe barged into their room and quickly caught up to their friends.

"Yeah, he caused us a ton of problems in the past," Izzy said.

"Let's get rid of him before he can do too much damage," Ken said a scowl appearing on his face. He hated to remember how MaloMyotismon had used him in the past. Not wanting to take any chances, the Chosen Children's partners evolved to their ultimate levels. The warriors looked on in awe seeing all of the ultimates and the three DNA evolutions.

"That's cool," Tommy said. This was the first time they saw Paildramon and Shakkuomon.

"They can't have all the fun," Takuya smiled. He was instantly surrounded by fire and remerged as BurningGreymon. The rest of the warriors followed suit. They opted for their beast spirits since this Myotismon guy was supposed to be bad news. Except for Kouji who chose to use his human spirit."Leave the Triceramon to us, you guys focus on Myotismon," MetalKabuterimon said. The warriors could easily out fight the two ultimates.

Myotismon watched carefully as he was surrounded. It was one against nine, but he still seemed confident. He began his attack, sending hordes of bats at each of them. The bats nipped at anything they came across sending sharp shooting pains through the digimon partners.

They swatted at the tiny bats, but as soon as those bats were destroyed hundreds more filled their space.

"He wasn't this annoying last time," Sylphimon snarled as they tore one of the bats from their arm.

"He must have gotten stronger like Dragomon did," Izzy said.

While they were distracted, red energy whips flew through the air and stuck MetalGreymon, Garudamon, and Shakkuomon in the chest knocking them over. The three of them crashed to the ground, large red marks beginning to show where the whip stuck them. Myotismon's 'Crimson Lightning' continued to make contact with the other digimon causing each one to fall to the ground.

Myotismon's laughter ran throughout the streets as he gazed upon his weakening opponents. But they weren't about to give up. Fighting past the pain, they stood up and fired their own attacks at Myotismon. The vampire digimon zipped through the air, managing to dodge most of the attacks.

While the others were fighting in the sky, WereGarurumon began to scale the nearby building trying to get into position. Once he was high enough above them, WereGarurumon dropped down onto Myotismon swiping at him with his claws. Not expecting a close range attack, Myotismon barely managed to get out of the way. But WereGarurumon's attack made a deep slice down the length of his arm.

With an angry hiss, Myotismon sent his whip at WereGarurumon. The whip wrapped around WereGarurumon's wrist as soon as his feet made contact with the ground. The whip sizzled and began to burn his skin making WereGarurumon snarl. He began to thrash around, trying to free himself. Before he could dislodge the whip from his wrist, Mysotismon gave a sharp tug pulling the surprised digimon into the air.

The others were afraid to attack in case they ended up hitting WereGarurumon along with Myotismon. Paildramon and Silphymon flew up to try and help WereGarurumon. With another sharp tug, Myotismon sent WereGarurumon hurtling into the other two digimon.

WereGarurumon crashed into Paildramon and Silphymon causing all three of them to start to fall. Luckily, Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon were there to catch them before they hit the ground.

"Are you alright?" Garudamon asked as he held WereGarurumon gently in her talons.

The wolf digimon growled lowly and massaged his wrist. The entire thing was covered in a painful looking burn. "I'll be fine," he snarled grumpily. He thanked Garudamon as an afterthought before jumping off back into the battle.

The fight continued. Beams and blasts of energy mixed in with thousands of bats filled the sky. They were holding their own, but Myotismon was putting up a good fight.

A little ways away, the warriors weren't having too much trouble dealing with the two Triceramon. Zephyrmon, JägerLoweemon, and Lobomon moved in close and landed melee hits on the two larger digimon. Their speed made it easy for them to dodge the Triceramon's attacks. Korikkakumon, BuringGreymon, and MetalKabuterimon hung back a little, and waited for the right moment to attack.

One of the Triceramon swung its claws through the air trying to catch Zephyrmon. But Zoe easily slipped past the attack, making its claws slam into the ground. Zephyrmon giggled at the digimon's frustration.

"Missed me," she teased. The Triceramon was so focused on the digimon buzzing around his face, that he didn't notice the cannon that was facing him. Zoe flew straight up the tip of her foot skimming the top of Triceramon's head, making the digimon throw his head back and swipe at her furiously.

When Triceramon brought his head back down, once Zephyrmon was out of reach, his eyes widened upon seeing MetalKabuterimon's cannon pointing directly at him.

JP fired, the blast of electric energy hitting the dinosaur digimon dead on. Amazingly, Triceramon was still standing after the attack hit him. Even if he survived he had taken a ton of damage. His form slumped forward slightly, wisps of smoke rising of his body.

Before Triceramon could recover, Korikakkumon rushed in and quickly finished him off. A few well aimed slashes from his axe and Triceramon was reduced to bits of data.

The other Triceramon wasn't doing so well either. Between the twins and Takuya, Triceramon had no chance. Lobomon had tried to attack him with his swords, only for them to bounce off. Triceramon's thick hide protected him from Lobomon's sword and JägerLoweemon's claws, but it did nothing to protect him from BurningGreymon's fire.

BurningGreymon flew in, his body surrounded by fire. Triceramon was ready; he jumped off to the side and quickly pivoted on his heel, slamming his tail into BurningGreymon's gut. The fire around him extinguished as BurningGreymon stumbled backwards, winded.

Triceramon began gathering energy in his horns in preparation for a 'Tri-Horn' attack. His horns began to glow when his energy reached its peak. But before his attack could go off, Lobomon's 'Howling Laser' hit him right in the eye.

Triceramon reared back in pain, his hand coming up to cover his injured eye. This caused his attack to miss-fire, shooting up towards the sky and taking off a chunk of a building along the way.

Triceramon turned toward Lobomon and glared angrily at him with his one good eye. Lobomon was kneeling with his laser still pointed at Triceramon's face. Triceramon roared and began to charge toward Lobomon.

Kouji smirked and didn't try to move out of the way. Triceramon only managed to take a few steps before JägerLoweemon slammed into his side knocking him over. By this time, BurningGreymon had recovered and joined Lobomon and JägerLoweemon. The three of them simultaneously attacked Triceramon before he could regain his footing. The combined force of their attacks easily destroyed the last Triceamon.

With the two Triceramon easily destroyed, the warriors went to join the others in the fight against Myotismon.

"What's taking you guys so long? It's just one guy," Takuya taunted as he flew up next to MetalGreymon.

"It's not as easy as it looks," Paildramon said grumpily.

"We'll see about that," Takuya laughed before diving straight toward Myotismon.

"Takuya wait!" Tai shouted, in hopes of stopping his friend before he got hurt.

Myotismon smiled as he watched the large dragon digimon barreling towards him. He simply raised one of his hands and attacked him with a 'Grizzly Wing' attack. The mob of bats collided with BurningGreymon's front making him crash to the ground.

Myotismon moved in following his fallen opponent. As soon as they saw Myotismon start to follow BurningGreymon, the other digimon jumped into action. They attacked him one after another effectively blocking of Myotismon from his intended target. When an electrical attack from MegaKabuterimon grazed his cloak, Myotismon glared at them angrily and returned to attack the other digimon in the sky. Zephyrmon flew up to join them, leaving the rest of the warriors grounded, with Zudomon and WereGarurumon.

BurningGreymon growled lowly and pushed himself to his feet.

"You okay?" Zudomon asked.

"I thought you would have learned by now not to go rushing in like that," Lobomon scolded.

"I may have gotten a little ahead of myself," Takuya admitted, rubbing his back of his head sheepishly. Kouji scoffed while JP, Tommy, and Kouichi just shook their heads sadly at their friend.

"This guy seems stronger than an ultimate level," Tommy observed.

"Any one got a plan?" Kari asked. No one really knew how to approach this fight. It didn't seem possible that he could fend off all of them at just the ultimate level. It was obvious he had gotten some kind of help from Daemon and Lucemon.

"Just get him closer to the ground and we can figure the rest out from there," Lobomon said. He unsheathed both his swords and gripped them tightly getting into a fighting stance.

**A/N: I want to say thank you to DigiKouichi, (I have no idea if this is your real pen name or not since you reviewed as a guest) your review meant so much to me. I'm glad that I am improving, and that it is that noticeable. This was the first story I've attempted in writing and hearing that you think its that well written I was so happy. I hope you and everyone else will continue to enjoy my story :)**


End file.
